Several leading integrative medicine proponents recently testified during a U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on the role of integrative medicine in healthcare reform.

The February 26 hearing, “Integrative Medicine: A Pathway to a Healthier Nation,” was co-chaired by Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) and sought to explore the role of complementary and integrative medicine in reforming the nation’s ailing healthcare system.

Today, the U.S. spends 16% of its gross domestic product—more than any other developed country—on healthcare. The vast majority of those expenditures—78% or $1.5 trillion annually—are for the treatment of preventable, lifestyle-related chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Increasingly, officials at the highest level of government are recognizing the necessity and value of integrative medicine, which makes use of conventional and complementary therapies, in preventing and managing chronic disease. In a press release following the hearing, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, called integrative care “a vital part of the new healthcare system” and warned that the country must adopt “a more integrated approach to medicine, through healthcare that addresses the mental, emotional and physical aspects of the healing process in order to improve the depth, breadth and patient choice in clinical practice.”

Jeffrey Bland, PhD, FACN, chief science officer, Metagenics, San Clemente, CA, is considered one of the nation’s leading authorities on the interrelationships between lifestyle factors (e.g., diet and exercise), genetic expression and the origin of chronic disease. His statement to the Senate spoke about the need for a paradigm shift in the focus of medicine, away from the current model that treats the symptoms of chronic diseases using acute care protocols to a new model that addresses the root causes of chronic diseases using prevention and lifestyle management. His remarks were echoed by fellow leading integrative medicine proponents who also testified, Drs. Mehmet Oz, Dean Ornish, Mark Hyman and Andrew Weil.

Dr. Bland’s testimony included information about biomolecular research, which has established a clear link between the origin of chronic disease, individual genetic factors and lifestyle and environmental factors. These latest scientific developments give rise to a functional medicine approach to prevention and management of chronic diseases, he said. Functional medicine is broadly defined as a holistic approach that takes into account biochemical individuality and seeks to address the underlying cause of chronic diseases.

Although the present debate surrounding healthcare reform has focused heavily on universal access to care, absent from this dialog is a discussion on the type of healthcare that should be provided. According to Dr. Bland, the rise in chronic diseases calls for a shift away from our present healthcare delivery model (reactive, focused on treating disease) to a new healthcare delivery model (proactive, focused on preventing and managing chronic disease).

Widespread implementation of the above model will require 1) a clinical training program in prospective, functional medicine; 2) a reimbursement method for interventions such as assessment, patient education, and integrative therapies; and 3) a greater role for healthcare extenders, such as dietitians and other allied health professionals who will work closely with the patient to achieve their goals.

“A shift to prospective, integrative medicine is necessary for the healthcare issues Americans face today,” said Dr. Bland. “We already have the knowledge and the tools, including therapeutic lifestyle change programs, to practice this kind of care. My hope is that these therapies will eventually be integral to the way healthcare is delivered in this country.”