Integrative Medicine is an Exciting New Approach to Healthcare
Integrative medicine is a rising medical specialty that gets back to basics. While healthcare has increasingly grown concerned with new technologies, the business side of medicine, and the bottom line, integrative medicine tends to slow things down. Physicians who have dedicated themselves to this medical specialty don’t just focus on what’s immediately wrong with a patient. They take a holistic approach to care that prioritizes things like nutrition, exercise, and natural remedies to common problems. Integrative medicine combines the best of traditional, mainstream medicine with complementary and alternative methods to provide the most comprehensive, least intrusive treatment available. In doing so, these medical professionals are changing the way that many people receive healthcare.
Ultimately, a physician’s first priority is to provide exceptional patient care. But as healthcare has continued to decentralize and become big business, many physicians have grown frustrated with a system that has de-emphasized the traditional physician-patient relationship in lieu of fast appointments with mostly anonymous physicians. Integrative medicine is a back-to-basics approach that patients have responded to favorably across the continent. Furthermore, this specialty takes a commonsense approach to treatment that utilizes all of the resources available to the patient, be it traditional medicine and/or natural herbal remedy.
Last year, the American Board of Physician Specialties® became the first multi-specialty physician certifying body to offer board certification in integrative medicine. Through the newly formed American Board of Integrative Medicine® (ABOIM), more than 120 physicians who had sufficiently demonstrated their proficiency of the core competencies necessary to practice integrative medicine received formal recognition for their expertise and experience in the field. This marked an important growth moment for a medical specialty that has been rapidly growing throughout North America in recent years.
Now, when patients are researching physicians in their area, they have a clear barometer that indicates who has gone above and beyond to establish themselves as a leader in their industry. Board certification is a trusted validation of a physician’s credibility, and the ABOIM will continue to certify qualified physicians who meet our stringent eligibility requirements. To learn more, contact us today. The ABPS is the official board certifying body of the American Association of Physician Specialists, Inc.®