Clinician's Guide to Holistic Medicine (Hazelden Chronic Illness S.)

This new series is directed to healthcare professionals who increasingly need information on holistic approaches to chronic illness in response to the growing demand from patients. Managed care has deferred responsibility for initial diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions to primary care physicians and other healthcare professionals. The University of California's Institute for Health and Aging predicts that by 2020, 134 million Americans will have some form of chronic condition that will cause personal limitations or disabilities. Only about 33% of these patients will be "elderly". This book includes both conventional and alternative approaches to all common diseases. Organized by disease category, which is consistent with the way clinicians think and practice medicine, the book incorporates the medical terminology used in primary care practice. It incorporates the philosophical underpinnings of holistic medicine centering on key aspects of health promotion, prevention and treatment directed at giving the patient the best opportunity to experience "optimum health". The text includes 60 of the most common diseases covering prevention and treatment; treatment options appear in bullets for ease of use. Alternative approaches are categorized into the following areas: environmental, nutritional, psychoneuroimmunological, social, botanical etc and the text is up-to-date with current examples of medical evidence. Each disease is treated with a description, discussion of prevalence, risk factors, conventional treatment and holistic treatment.