Conventional and Complementary medicine

1. Conventional and Complementary medicine Chapter 15

2. Self-Care • Self-Assessment • Symptoms are often an expression of the body’s attempt to heal itself • Carefully observing symptoms lets you identify those signals that suggest you need professional assistance • Body’s vital signs • Temperature • Heart rate • Medical self-tests • Blood pressure • Blood sugar • Pregnancy detection • Urinary tract infections

3. KNOWING WHEN TO SEE A PHYSICIAN • See a physician for symptoms that you would describe as: • Severe • Unusual • Persistent • Recurrent • Emergencies include the following: • Major trauma or injury • Uncontrollable bleeding • Intolerable and uncontrollable pain • Severe shortness of breath • Persistent abdominal pain • Poisoning or drug overdose • Loss of consciousness or seizure • Stupor, drowsiness, or disorientation • Severe or worsening reaction to an insect bite or sting or to a medication

4. SELF-TREATMENT • Non-drug options • Self-medication • Over-the-counter (OTC) medications • Simple guidelines to self-medicate safely: • Always read labels • Do not exceed the recommended dosage or length of treatment • Use caution if you are taking other medications • Try to select medications with one active ingredient • Try to buy generic drugs • Never take or give a drug from an unlabeled container • If pregnant or nursing, or have a chronic condition, consult health care provider before self-medicating • Follow expiration date • Store your medications in a cool, dry place • Use caution with aspirin

5. FIGURE 15.1 READING AND UNDERSTANDING OTC DRUG LABELS

6. Professional care • System of broad network of professionals and organizations, including: • Independent practitioners • Health care providers • Hospitals • Clinics • Public and private insurance programs • Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) • Most commonly used CAM therapies: • Relaxation techniques • Herbal medicine • Massage • Chiropractic

7. Conventional medicine • Premises and assumptions of conventional medicine • Western medicine is the belief that disease is caused by identifiable physical factors • Identifies: • Pathogens • Bacteria or viruses • Genetic factors • Unhealthy lifestyles • Based on scientific method of obtaining knowledge • Empirical • Rational • Testable • Parsimonious • General • Rigorously evaluated • Tentative

8. The providers of conventional medicine • Medical doctors (MD) • Doctors of osteopathic medicine (OD) • Podiatrists • Optometrists • Dentists • Allied health care providers: • Registered nurses (RN) • Licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) • Physical therapists (PT) • Social workers • Registered dietitians (RDs) • Physician assistants (PA) • Nurse practitioners • Certified nurse midwives

9. Choosing a primary care physician • Begin making a list of possible choices • Check insurance limits • Ask for recommendations • Family, friends, coworkers, local medical societies, and the physician referral service • Once you have a list of physicians, call their office and find out some information • Is the physician covered by your insurance plan? • What are the office hours? • Which hospitals does the physician use? • How many other physicians are available to cover when unavailable? • How long does it usually take to get an appointment? • Does the physician give advice over the phone?

10. GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR MEDICAL CARE • The physician-patient partnership • Your appointment with your physician • The diagnostic process • Physical exam • Diagnostic testing • X-rays • Biopsies • Blood and urine tests • Scans • Endoscopies • Medical and surgical treatments • Prescription medications • Surgery

11. Complementary and alternative medicine • CAM tends to focus on an integration of mind, body, and spirit in seeking ways to restore the whole person to harmony • Alternative medical systems • Traditional chinese medicine (TCM) • Harmonious flow of qi produces health • Herbal remedies • Acupuncture • QI is believed to flow through the body along several meridians (pathways) • Homeopathy • “Like cures like”

12. Mind-body interventions • Intervention makes use of the integral connection between mind and body • Meditation • Yoga • Visualization • Taijiquan • Biofeedback • Hypnosis

13. Biological-Based therapies • Consist primarily of: • Herbal therapies or remedies • Botanicals • Extracts from animal tissues • Dietary supplements • Common element in most systems of traditional medicine

14. Manipulative and body-based methods Touch and body manipulation are long-standing forms of health care Manual healing is based on the idea that misalignment or dysfunction in one part of the body causes pain or dysfunction in another part Chiropractic medicine

15. Energy therapies Forms of treatment that use energy originating either within the body (biofields) or from other sources (electromagnetic fields) Qigong Therapeutic touch Reiki Bioelectromagnetic-based therapies

16. Evaluating complementary and alternative therapies • Working with your physician • Areas to discuss • Safety • Effectiveness • Timing • Cost • Questioning the CAM practitioner • Why he or she thinks the therapy will be beneficial • Describe in detail any conventional treatments you are receiving • Ask how long the therapy should last • Ask about the expected cost of the treatment • Doing your own research

17. Paying for health care • The current system • Combination of private and public insurance plans, patient out-of-pocket payments, and government assistance • Health insurance • Traditional fee-for service (indemnity) plans • Managed-care plans • Health maintenance organizations (HMO) • Preferred provider organizations (PPO) • Point-of-service (POS) plans • Health savings accounts (HSAs) • Government programs • Medicare • Medicaid • Choosing a policy

18. Conventional and Complementary medicine Chapter 15