By
Niusha Faghih
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Organization aims to publicize health therapy
Dr. Andrew Weil continues to spread the word about integrative medicine through a new council he formed about two months ago.
Weil, the director of the University of Arizona's integrative medicine department, founded the National Integrative Medicine Council, which is based in Tucson.
"The purpose of the NIMC is to promote the philosophy of integrative medicine at a national level through public policy (legislative action at state and national levels) and education," said Bill Benda, director of Medical and Public Affairs for the National Integrative Council.
The council membership is similar to "the Sierra Club, where individual and professional organizations can join," Benda said, and is "acting as a grass roots organization to act as a liaison between various entities."
A consumer-driven movement, the council offers membership to varied constituencies like physicians, health-care providers, non-profit and profit organizations and academic organizations, said Matt Russell, the council's executive director.
"The goal of the NIMC is to fulfill and ensure authenticity, credibility, and long-term viability of integrative medicine through political, corporate, academic, media and grass roots organizations," Benda said.
Integrative medicine is "a concept of health care that takes the best of conventional and unconventional theories and puts them together on one treatment plan," he said.
There are areas where conventional medicine is strong and integrative medicine is weak and areas where conventional medicine is weak and integrative medicine is strong, Benda said.
Integrative medicine "puts the two strengths together," Benda said, "it's the best of two worlds."
"A tremendous number of patients are seeking out therapies of integrative medicine," Benda said, because there are "a wider range of tools to chose from."
The council helps individuals make more informed decisions about healthcare and helps policy makers understand what integrative medicine is, Russell said.
Regarding critics, Russell said, "certainly some folks in different parts of the country are skeptical of the integrative approach," but "we have yet to encounter our first critic."
