INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE: INDIA NEEDS INTEGRATED EFFORTS
The new age of scientific development is marked by enormous achievements of Modern Medicine. Modern Medicine has gained the status of mainstream medicine and replaced Traditional Medicine (TM) to a large extent in almost every part of the world. This system of medicine is based on hard scientific evidence and primarily advocates reductionist approach to health and disease. Modern Medicine makes it possible for us to draw precise picture of the internal workings of the human body, measure tiny metabolic reactions, exchange organs from one person to another, and even grow babies in test tubes (XU Hao et al Chin J Integr Med 2011 Feb;17(2):83-84).
Modern Medicine has, in its armamentarium, the unparalleled range of diagnostic tests, highly advanced surgical procedures, and an ever increasing array of molecules effective on pathological sites and organisms. It has successfully reduced the prevalence of infectious diseases and significantly improved the quality of life of patients with chronic ailments. No traditional system of medicine at present can provide an alternative to Modern Medicine for its life saving methods and devices. One cannot think of an all-inclusive health facility running without the help of Modern Medicine.
Despite all its glorious achievements and the place it has acquired among all other health systems of the world, the Modern Medicine has its own limitations. It fails to put due emphasis on preventive, promotive and rehabilitative strategies, and is unable to provide lasting solution for most of the chronic ailments. It seems that Modern Medicine is unable to provide comprehensive health care to the patients and is making them dependent on medicines in order to ensure their survival. People today, are increasingly realizing the limitations of Modern Medicine and are turning towards Traditional Medicine for their health needs. The volume of studies published on Alternative Medicine (AM), Traditional Medicine (TM) and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is growing day by day and so is the market related to these systems.
The efforts to develop a well-organized system of integrative medicine started at different times in different countries during last few decades. China is doing it in the most organized way. The process of integration in the US is still in its infancy. The establishment of National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) in 1998 and Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health (The Consortium) in 1999 indicate that efforts of integration are being intensified in the United States. The US is working on its own model by pushing the process of integration through narrow lanes of reductionist approach in order to retain scientific evidence-based character of its model.
The ideal model of integration is the one that is feasible to implement and takes the nature and sociocultural acceptability of TM into consideration, hence, may differ from country to country. Indian model of Integrative Medicine should be based on integration of two main systems of medicine practiced in India i.e. Ayurveda and Modern Medicine. Ayurveda was the mainstream medicine of pre-colonial Indian subcontinent. It has a history of thousands of years and is evolved through centuries from the practice of primitive remedies mentioned in Atharvaveda into a well-organized and effective system of medicine of Caraka and Sushruta samhitas. Many contributions of Ayurveda, such as cataract surgery, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, to the development of different medical systems of the world are well recognized. Ayurveda is fundamentally a medical system of integrative nature. It has progressed by imbibing the ideas from many other disciplines like Samkhya, Vaisheshika, Nyaya, Yoga etc. In later period, Rasa Shastra, an independent science, contributed to and became an integral part of Ayurveda. Until the introduction of Mod
Key words: INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE, Ayurveda, AYUSH,
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