0 Doctor to your whole self

Once we went to my mother’s doctor and he had a sign that said, “Due to low Medicare reimbursement, you can only ask one question.”

Who has one thing wrong?

Another time, I was talking to a doctor and he pointed to the psoriasis on my elbow—who would even mention that—I have problems!

What if a doctor actually thought about your whole self—and not just because your whole self was fat and that explained everything?

I was reading about a doctor like this in On Wisconsin, the alum mag for Fall 2010. His name is David Rakel, MD, and I am sure he’s not the only one. He runs the university’s integrative medicine program. He does what works—acupuncture, prescriptions drugs, herbs, guided imagery.

This form of medicine relies on social, psychological, physical and environmental factors that affect health.

Rakel proceeds on the notion that body and mind are linked. The body can respond as if what is imagined is a real event.

Patients who come to Rakel, in writer Susan Brink’s phrase, are a tangle of symptoms. He recommends a bundle of approaches.

It may not be a quick “cure,” And the patient may not be able or willing to do everything recommended, but it’s a game plan and usually helps.

And I bet you can ask more than one question.