INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE: BETWEEN WISHFUL THINKING AND REALITY

Abstract

Integrative concepts of medicine and health have manifested in various forms through the history of medicine. There have been major transformations in understanding health care and integrative medicine in the past decades. Comorbidities and multimorbidities are indifferent to professional specialties and ever growing subspecialization in medicine so integrative medicine bringing separated branches of medicine close to each other is more and more important. Integrative medicine as a conceptual scientific frame and practical approach attempts to bring coherence to theory and practice of health care. There exists a lack of consensus regarding a clear and precise definition of integrative medicine. We suggest here a holistic definition which emphasizes transdisciplinarity of the field with aims of restoring body, cognitive, affective and behavioral functions, and the most varied methods that can contribute to achieving these aims. A clear definition of integrative medicine could help to unify the field of medicine and is very important for better understanding among policy makers, funding agencies and the general public, as well as from academic and clinical disciplines. Integrative medicine is a transdisciplinary holistic approach to healthcare that combines integrated conventional Western medicine with evidence-based complementary concepts therapeutic methods to provide optimal and person-centered care. The scientific background for integrative medicine includes a research physiological, psychological, social and spiritual factors that contribute to health and disease through processes of salutogenesis and pathogenesis.