Self-Referral, Health and Disease
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are likely to miss the future.”
– President John F. Kennedy
To effectively reform medical care for the better, we must consider basic assumptions. After 42 years providing Family Practice medical care, I can authoritatively say this: In the medical field, there is far too much focus on DISEASE and how to FIGHT DISEASE. What about HEALTH? Can we better identify and understand HEALTH, and through that better understanding, make a medical care model that is better than what we have now? We must use what we have learned about Self-Referral to improve medical care.
Self-Referral is the body's natural ability of self-regulation. Through Self-Referral the body refers to itself, by itself, and regulates itself. Self-Referral finds what changes the body needs to maintain health, and makes those changes happen. Self-Referral thus is the basis of BOTH health and disease. The difference between health and disease is normal or abnormal functioning of Self-Referral. The difference between health and disease thus is normal or abnormal functioning of Self-Referral.
Doctors usually focus on diseases that are curable, or at least treatable. This approach is practical, but it has drawbacks. I believe this bias has produced an imbalance in medical practice. It creates undue fascination with the details of disease, with apparent indifference to health. This imbalance perpetuates the myth that health and disease are separate and unrelated. Why do medical professionals focus on disease?
The Disease Approach organizes and simplifies medical care. Doctors need a way to sort out what ails the patient and what to do about it. The Disease Approach thus is very practical: it works. The result is a cookbook approach to diagnosis and therapy. Find the correct diagnosis or disease, and the doctor proceeds with the suggested treatment. Doctors studying medicine thus learn diagnosis and treatment by rote. This has become a time-honored system because it is both effective and successful.
A second reason for the Disease Approach is medical practice’s time demands. Doctors carry a heavy patient load. Consider this: in a given month, 750 of 1,000 American adults will have an illness or injury. Most will be minor problems like a cold or a stubbed toe. These people will take care of themselves. The remaining 250 will seek a physician. Nine of these will go to the hospital, but the remaining 241 will go to a doctor's office. This is about one million new patients per month – and doctors in the United States see about three million patients every day.
When faced with the endless treadmill of medical practice, doctors must set priorities to save time and energy. This is the origin of the time-honored system of medical practice. Identify the disease, prescribe needed therapy, and move on to the next patient. This system is orderly and successful but offers little incentive to change.
A third reason for the Disease Approach is that doctors are so busy – even beyond medical practice. After a long day in the office, doctors often care for patients in the evening and on weekends. Patients constantly call with questions. Doctors go to the hospital to make rounds and perform surgery.
Is it any wonder that doctors set their thinking and skills on the Disease Approach?
The answer to improving today’s medical practice cannot be solely theoretical; a new theory alone will not solve the problems posed by the Disease Approach. We must come up with practical ways to better understand what we call Disease - in order to better understand Health. And, knowing that, we can move away from Disease and TOWARD Health.
We must better understand the CAUSE of Disease. If we can clearly understand the CAUSE of disease, we can then be equipped to PREVENT Disease and ELIMINATE Disease. These are BIG IDEAS, and roll up your sleeves because from this post forward we are going to cover a lot of ground. How can we improve Self-Referral? How can we move toward Maximum Health? Stay with me and we will explore these issues thoroughly. Remember - hold fast, stand firm, and persevere!