Conventional and Complementary medicine

1. Conventional and Complementary medicine Chapter 20

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 sign • Temperature • Heart rate • Medical self-tests • Blood pressure • Blood sugar • Pregnancy detection • Urinary tract infections

3. know 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 • Uncontrollable bleeding • Intolerable or uncontrollable pain • Severe shortness of breath • Persistent abdominal pain • Poisoning or drug overdose • Loss of consciousness or seizure • Unexplained stupor, drowsiness, or disorientation • Severe or worsening reaction to an insect bite or sting or to a medication, especially if breathing is difficult

4. Self-treatment • Watchful waiting • Nondrug options • Self-medication • Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs • 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, consult health care provider first • Check expiration date • Store your medications in a cool, dry place • Use caution with aspirin • Reye’s syndrome - children

5. Figure 20.1 Reading and understanding OTC drug labels

6. Figure 20.2 Your home medical care kit

7. 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: • Acupuncture • Chiropractic • Relaxation techniques • Herbal medicine • Massage • Meditation • Yoga • Integrative medicine • Conventional health care with the addition of unconventional modalities

8. Conventional medicine • Premises and assumptions of Conventional Medicine • Western medicine is based on 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

9. The providers of conventional medicine • Medical doctor (MD) • Doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) • Podiatrist • Optometrist • Dentist • Allied health care providers: • Registered nurse (RN) • Licensed vocational nurse (LVN) • Licensed practical nurse (LPN) • Physical therapist (PT) • Licensed social worker (LSW) • Registered dietitian (RD) • Physician assistant (PA) • Nurse practitioner • Certified nurse midwife

10. Choosing a primary care physician • Begin making a list of possible choices • Check insurance limits • Ask for recommendations • Family, friends, coworkers, local medical societies, 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? • How long does it usually take to get an appointment? • Does the office send reminders for preventive check-ups? • Does the physician give advice over the phone?

11. Getting the most our of your medical care • The physician-patient partnership • Your physician appointments • The diagnostic process • Physical exams • Diagnostic testing • X-rays • Biopsies • Blood and urine tests • Scans • Endoscopies • Medical and surgical treatments • Prescription medications • Medication errors • Off-label drug use • Online pharmacies • Costs • Surgery • Elective surgeries

12. Figure 20.3 reading and understanding prescription medication labels

13. 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 • Integration = holistic health care, considering the whole person • Alternative medical systems • Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) • Harmonious flow of qi produces health • Acupuncture and herbal remedies • QI is believed to flow through the body along several meridians (pathways) • Homeopathy • Naturopathy

14. Figure 20.4 The Categories of CAM practices

15. Mind-body interventions • Interventions make use of the integral connection between mind and body • Meditation • Yoga • Visualization • Taijiquan • Biofeedback • Placebo effect • Hypnotherapy

16. Natural Products • Also known as biologically based therapies • Include substances derived from plant or animal sources • Consist primarily of herbal therapies or remedies, botanicals, and extracts from animal tissues • Pharmacopoeia • Drug-herb interactions

17. Table 20.2 Commonly Used Herbals

18. Manipulative and body-based methods • Based on manipulating or moving one or more body parts • 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

19. Exercise • Exercise for health maintenance, promotion, and disease preventions fits the definition of CAM • 65% of Americans would be more interested in exercising if advised to do so by their physicians • New program “Exercise Is Medicine” encourages physicians to record a patient’s exercise level asa regular vital sign

20. Other CAM Practices • CAM practices also include • Movement therapies • Use movement to promote well-being (Feldenkreis method, Alexander technique, Pilates) • Traditional healing practices • Based on indigenous theories handed down from generation to generation (Native American medicine man, shaman) • Energy therapies

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

22. Evaluating complementary and alternative therapies • Work with your physician • Areas to discuss • Safety • Effectiveness • Timing • Cost • Questions for the CAM practitioner • Ask about education, training, licensing, certification • Ask 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 continue • Ask about the expected cost of the treatment • Do your own research

23. 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 • Governmental programs • Medicare • Medicaid • Health care reform • Affordable Care Act, March 2010

24. Conventional and Complementary medicine Chapter 20