KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — Today, what’s most fundamental is that we should have an educated, discerning mind on what health is all about. Since health is a basic human right, there is a need to be empowered to know which are the best modalities for health, wellness and also in sickness.

Integrative medicine is a collaborative approach that combines effective treatments of both conventional mainstream (allopathic medicine) and complementary medicine in an evolving clinical setting.

By blending the best of both worlds, integrative medicine practitioners place the informed patient at the centre and addresses the full range of physical, emotional, mental, psychosocial, socio-economic, spiritual, occupational, intellectual and environmental influences that shape a person’s health.

We have evolved a long way since 1948, when the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health with a phrase that is still used today. "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Our current mainstream medical model works well for acute illnesses, trauma and complicated surgeries, but there is a gap to be bridged. This can be achieved by integrating mainstream with complementary medicine in order to manage chronic diseases holistically.

We believe integrative medicine holds the key to solving this local and global health problem.

There is no effective stand-alone treatment protocol that can solve our health issues as there are many varied aspects of health to be factored in. As a solution, a combination of suitable therapies, designed by mainstream (allopathic) and non-mainstream medical experts, could be offered for each individual.

In integrative medicine, we emphasise respect for the human capacity for healing and the importance of the relationship between the practitioner and the patient.

The Association of Integrative Medicine Malaysia (AIMM) finally launched the acclaimed Inaugural International Integrative Medicine Conference (IIIMC) 2018 with much success. It was held for two days from Feb 11 at Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

We are truly honoured and thankful for the esteemed support from Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam and Health Director General, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Heartfelt thanks to the Health Deputy Director General, Datuk Dr Jeyaindran Sinnadurai for officiating the conference and also graciously awarding the foundation fellow awards to the pro-tem committee.

We had 21 foreign and local medical experts giving inspiring lectures on interventional diet and nutrition, energy medicine, physical training for mitochondrial health, integrated oncology, integrated endocrinology, regenerative medicine, integrated aesthetics, integrated clinical homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractor and last but not least cutting-edge mainstream medicine.

We were encouraged further by both the international and local speakers and delegates for their most valuable feedback. They said the conference was of world-class standard and ranking in terms of content, quality and venue.

They came from the US, UK, Australia, Sweden, France, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Phillipines among other countries.

It was a harmonious display of synergy with diversity as it was attended by allopathic doctors, non-allopathic medical practitioners, scientists, corporate figures and Health Ministry officials.

Symbolically, as to get to the heart of the matter, there were also patients as delegates. This was truly of essence to demonstrate the bottom-up approach as to fully understand what is best for our patients.

Patients who attended the conference testified that they were empowered and motivated after listening to all the medical experts’ talks in various fields. These patients felt hopeful as there are integrated medical solutions for every health issue.

This was in line with the conference theme "Empowerment through Integrative Medicine”, as patient empowerment is key.

To complement our inaugural conference, we had a momentous prestigious charity gala dinner which demonstrated comradeship not only within the fraternity but also across the community.

In summary:

• Integrative medicine should encompass a synergy of diversity of medical practices that evolved and stood the test of time of being safe and effective.

•Integrative medicine practitioners should be sensitive that every community has different beliefs, traditional cultures as well as superstitions that explains birth, illness and death.

• Not any of one category of medicine can provide the magic bullet.

• Medical knowledge is evolving science and all of us have to be engaged in continuous learning and at the same time acknowledge our own limitations.

Practitioners and patients who embrace integrative medicine paradigms will be at the forefront of healthcare in the 21st century. We at AIMM, aim to shift the balance of power back to the people. Simply put, by empowering patients to take control of their health and wellbeing.

(Disclaimer: The following articles published in this supplement is neither endorsed by AIMM nor the author. Any labiality arising is hereby disclaimed. AIMM and the author are indemnified from any legal issues).

(Disclaimer: This special supplement features the holistic approach by practitioners of alternative, complementary and integrative healthcare. The views expressed are that of the practitioners — strictly for information only. The stories/features do not in any way reflect the opinion of and are not endorsed by Malay Mail or Marc Media. Malay Mail and Marc Media are indemnified from any legal issues. All articles are published for general information and knowledge only).