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The Nation’s Best Hope for Lowering the Cost of Health Care

The Nation’s Best Hope for Lowering the Cost of Health Care

An Interview with Dr. Andrew Weil

Interview conducted by Karen M. Rider

Andrew-WeilCombining a Harvard education and a lifetime of practicing natural and preventive medicine, Andrew Weil, M.D. is internationally recognized for his expertise in integrative medicine, how to lead a healthy lifestyle and his philosophy of healthy aging. Dr. Weil has devoted the past 30 years of his career to developing, practicing and teaching others about the principles of integrative medicine. Weil has an inexhaustible network that provides valuable information and insight on how to incorporate conventional and complementary medicine practices in one’s life to optimize the body’s natural healing power.

In the last few years, he has been both cheered and jeered for his critique of the future of medicine and health care. His latest book, Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future (Hudson Street Press, 2009) illuminates how we have let healthcare in America become overpriced and ineffective – and what we can all do to fix it.

According to Dr. Weil, “integrative medicine as healing oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person (body, mind and spirit), including all aspects of diet and lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between patient and healthcare practitioner, and makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative.”

In this interview, Weil talks about the future of integrative medicine for a nation in the midst of a health crisis. He shares his definition of health, describes personal health responsibility and calls for change in medical education.



Karen:  We hear that Integrative Medicine (IM) is the way of the future for America. Is there agreement among holistic practitioners as to what this vision holds

Dr. Weil:  Our current system of healthcare in the United States is ineffective at promoting the health of its citizens, far too expensive, and unsustainable. The healthcare “debate” has focused primarily on insurance reform, but discussion on the content of optimal healthcare has yet to begin in earnest. Many experts have weighed in, but I believe that integrative medicine, with its emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion, is the only practical way to transform our healthcare system.

My partners at AzCIM and I are working to ensure that doctors of the future will recognize their primary role to be supporting the optimal functioning of their patients’ innate healing systems, not the management of disease. They will do this by focusing on the individual nature of patients, appropriately using inexpensive and non-invasive means like diet and lifestyle changes first to both prevent and treat the root causes of disease, resorting to invasive and drug therapies to treat illness and suppress symptoms only when absolutely necessary.

Karen:  Many integrative physicians spend a great deal of time with their patients. Consequently, many are not able to accept insurance because they can’t adhere to seeing ‘x’ number of patients per hour.  What can ‘the average, holistic minded citizen,’ do to educate our lawmakers and insurance companies that we need broader access to services provided by integrative physicians?



Dr. Weil:  In the future, the time necessary to support the healing relationship between patient and any licensed practitioner will be honored and reimbursed accordingly, but we will each be asked to accept greater responsibility for our own health. To get to that place more quickly, patients and practitioners need to work together and call for the opportunity to discuss with representatives of the insurance industry and our elected officials the looming healthcare crisis. Whether these discussions take place in community forums, think tanks, or seminars they will ultimately contribute to taking back our health. In Why Our Health Matters, I list a number of actions each of us can take to promote the change we need in our healthcare system.

Karen:  In many parts of the country, conventional physicians remain closed-minded about natural health care.  How do we change this mind-set?

Dr. Weil:  Physician perspectives towards healthcare are largely formed during medical school, internship and residency training, where disease is well defined but health is not.  As a starting point, no future doctor should leave training without a working definition of health. I define health as a positive state of wholeness, balance and resilience that allows us to move through our environments without being injured by all the things out there with the potential to cause us harm. Practicing physicians should likewise be armed with this definition of health.

In addition, there needs to be greater emphasis placed on training in and personal time allotted for the personal health and wellbeing of people entering the healing arts. When a practitioner can easily define what good health means for themselves, and actively participates in dietary and lifestyle measures to help optimize their own health, they can more authentically offer appropriate recommendations to their patients. My partners at AzCIM and I have developed a model integrative medicine curriculum that meets these needs and that is now being used at medical centers across the nation.



Karen:  Many changes are needed in our healthcare system and it will take years to initiate and implement entirely. Right now, what do you feel will have the greatest impact on this complex system?

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Dr. Weil:  A shift in perceived responsibility of the individual and the role of the healthcare practitioner is mandatory. Each of us needs to understand that it is our own responsibility, and not that of our doctors or the healthcare system, to support our innate healing capacity.

Our doctors can help facilitate the optimal functioning of our healing systems, first and foremost through the creation of a healing relationship with us, and then by recommending healthy diet and lifestyle measures, and a blend of carefully considered conventional and alternative therapies to help us stay well. The ultimate responsibility for staying healthy, however, rests with us as individuals.

Karen:  What’s next?

Dr. Weil:  I will continue writing, advocating and teaching. I am developing more True Food restaurants. True Food Kitchen (TFK) features dishes that adhere to the principles of the anti-inflammatory diet. TFK combines delicious flavors, healthy nutrients, environmental awareness and an inviting atmosphere to create an unforgettable culinary experience.

Fast Facts: Dr. Andrew Weil

  • A prolific author, Dr. Weil is a columnist for Prevention magazine, offers health tips at www.drweilblog.com  and is the editorial director of drweil.com, a leading web resource for healthy living based on the philosophy of integrative medicine.
  • Founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine (AzCIM) at the University of Arizona in Tucson
  • 10 million copies of Dr. Weil’s books have been sold—including five consecutive New York Times bestsellers:   Spontaneous Healing8 Weeks to Optimum HealthEating Well for Optimum HealthThe Healthy Kitchen, and Healthy Aging.
  • Dr. Weil has twice appeared on the cover of TIME magazine.
  • His favorite self-care practice is breath work. “Simple breathing exercises help me to stay calm, upbeat, and energized. Try a few of Dr. Weil’s favorites at: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02039/the-art-and-science-of-breathing.html

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Connect with Karen Rider at: http://karenmrider.com



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