Integrative Health Blog

5 Reasons to Choose an Integrative Doctor for Primary Care

Posted by admin on Tue, Jan 27, 2015

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A primary care provider is a family physician, internist, or nurse practitioner who coordinates all of the health care a patient receives. The holistic primary care model offers not only traditional primary care but also incorporates the best of complementary and alternative healing therapies from around the world to help you achieve optimum wellness, not just freedom from disease.

Our holistic primary care providers will be your partner and guide in helping you achieve your health goals.

Top 5 Reasons for Integrative Medicine

1. We treat the whole person

The mind, body and spirit all contribute to your health status and wellness. An integrative MD or Nurse Practitioner will develop a treatment plan that addresses your medical needs as well as your emotional and nutritional well-being. Stress management, diet, and lifestyle factors all play a role in your overall health.

2. Integrative medicine and Functional Medicine treat the cause of imbalance, not just the symptoms

You are not just a collection of your symptoms.  We look for the root cause of your imbalance or illness and develop a plan, with you, to remedy the cause. We can test for underlying vitamin, mineral or hormonal deficiencies or genetic factors which may be contributing to illness or imbalance, and work with you to correct the underlying cause.

3. We partner with you to develop a plan for optimal health

Integrative medicine is patient-centered. You are your own best advocate, but it is nice to have a partner with the same goal of getting you to a better state of wellness. Since integrative medicine works to address the cause of illness, it may take longer than a "quick fix" often expected with prescription medication. This is to be expected, but with a longer appointment the practitioner is able to listen and work with you to keep you moving in the right direction.

4. On-site specialty lab testing

In order to correct the underlying cause of illness, we must first identify it with a thorough history and lab testing. In addition to traditional blood work, we offer comprehensive and specialty lab testing on site for hormones, amino acids, nutritional deficiencies, Lyme Disease, MTHFR, digestive issues, food and chemical sensitivities, and much more.

5. More treatment options, including natural options

Trusting the wisdom of the body, we first look to treat with natural options such as bioidentical hormone therapy, high grade quality supplements or dietary and lifestyle modifications. Complementary therapies like acupuncture, therapeutic massage, infrared sauna, and detoxification therapies may be incorporated into a treatment plan, and these are available at our integrative medical center.

If you would like to learn more about a patient-centered integrative medicine, please contact us at 202-237-7000, or schedule a holistic primary care appointment and let us help you on your journey to wellness.

 

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National Integrated Health Associates, NIHA, is a leading integrative medicine and dental center  serving Washington D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia, although we have patients from all over the United States.

Topics: holistic approach, integrative medicine, primary care