JAMA 1999;282:2287-2288
“As a result of rigorous scientific investigation, several therapeutic and preventive modalities currently deemed elements of complementary and alternative medicine will have proven effective. Therefore, by 2020, these interventions will have been incorporated into conventional medical education and practice, and the term “complementary and alternative medicine” will be superseded by the concept of “Integrative Medicine…In 20 years, most human diseases will be understood at the fundamental level of molecules; knowledge about genetic control of CELLULAR FUNCTIONS will underpin future strategies to PREVENT or TREAT diseases.”
That article filled me with hope when I was alone in the medical wilderness, a pariah, a “rogue” as some of my colleagues put it. They raised eyebrows when I talked about the microbiome, probiotics, omega oils, etc. They also were not open to the concept of metabolism, cellular function and its most practical corollary, Pre-Diabetes.
Has Integrative Medicine kicked the door in? No
Will it in 2020? I doubt it.
But patients now get it and actively look for its practitioners, especially the ones that have gone to the dark side of the Force—money.
I wish you the best of health for the year 2020.
