Welcome to PMC Marin
PMCM is a successful, evolutionary model in an Integrated Family Medicine Practice. This type of approach is currently one of the most popular and expanding area of medicine and is considered by many to be the health care of the future. It allows us to use a wide variety of safe and effective therapies to both treat health problems and balance the body. PMCM also provides the latest in innovative health assessment beyond the typical Western Medicine lab tests. These include vitamin and mineral assays for nutritional adequacy, food allergy tests for both immune (antibody) and cell reactions, saliva and blood measurement of hormone levels, and other tests to look more deeply for problems as well as view the existing balance in the body.
PMCM provides a multidisciplinary method of health care. Patients and practitioners work together to design choices and create options for the treatment of health problems. This differs markedly from other restricted methods, which may support one way of thinking and one system of medicine. Although the basis of PMCM embraces and works within a Western model, it is clear the demand and interest of the medical consumer, the patient, desires therapeutic alternatives and practitioners who understand both allopathic and natural medical practices.
PMCM is also the only "alternative" or "integrated" center in the North Bay Area that works within the insurance system, utilizing the common plans of Blue Shield, Blue Cross, United Health Care, and others.
What is Integrated Medicine?
Integrated medicine is a common sense approach to a complex issue. I will endeavor to explain not only its simplicity but also its necessity in today's world.
Western allopathic medicine, commonly referred to as "traditional" medicine, has not really passed through tradition. It is the youngest in the healthcare field and is more appropriately termed "conventional" medicine, because it is "of convention" at this time. Conventional medicine has its strengths in acute crisis intervention, but has great limitations in successfully treating most chronic diseases. This method currently focuses on attack and conquer, primarily with technology - synthetic chemicals, drugs, and surgery.
Alternative medicine, or, as I term it, "traditional" medicine, has at its roots the history and tradition of many cultures worldwide. Therapies that align with such traditions include nutrition, acupuncture, herbal medicine, ayurveda, and many hands-on therapies.
The common sense approach of Integrated Medicine includes four levels:
- The first is integration of family practice diagnosis and treatment with health supportive care including psychotherapy, acupuncture and bodywork.
- Second is a blending of multi-disciplinary practices, standard conventional medicine with more naturally based methods. This can include nutritional and herbal supplements, osteopathy, stress management and other lifestyle guidance.
- The third aspect relates to incorporating different levels of the human being – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – the concept of "holistic" medicine. These aspects of the patient's life are reviewed, with relevant areas noted and then integrated into the evaluation and treatment.
- Finally, the shift is to understanding health or illness as an outcome of our life. The patient's entire past and present determine the health of their future. How we live, think and act, along with our genetics, past problems and the solutions to these problems contribute to our current state of health. Thus, a new question arises when we are ill. We can go beyond simply asking the typical Western query that we learn in modern TV commercials as, "What can I take to make this go away?" We want to know the whys and wherefores of what makes us sick, and thus we may better ask the more integrated questions of, "Why do I have this problem? Body, what are you telling me? and What is needed for Healing to occur?" Then our incredible biological brain-body bio-computer can get to work setting things right by guiding us when we are open to listen.
In summary, Integrated Medicine is the blending of these four aspects in an exploration of why a problem is developing and a focus on what you can do to change it.
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