Does integrated health have a place in Canadian medicine?
When penicillin was a wonder drug, and ancient diseases suddenly were tamed by new vaccines, Canadian confidence in modern medicine was unshakeable. But medical strides have become more nuanced. Cancer, heart disease, and other diseases persist. And today, not all patient visits are to doctor's offices.
Integrative health clinics often include a physician or naturopathic doctor and then a range of other therapists ranging from chiropractors to homeopaths. Some Canadian universities also incorporate integrative healthcare into their programs.
But there are people who have trouble accepting these clinics, and believe medical research dollars should not be spent on acupuncture and reiki.
- Timothy Caulfield is Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta, and author of Integrating Nonsense? in the May issue of Policy Options.
- Doctor Erin Wiley is is the director of the Integrated Health Institute in downtown Toronto.
What do you think of integrated health clinics?
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This segment was produced by The Current's Pacinthe Mattar, Sujata Berry, and Cynthia Vukets.