Shifting to a more integrated healthcare approach could help save health systems money, improve both patient and medical staff experience as well as health outcomes, according to a March 8 report from the Samueli Foundation.
The report defines integrative primary care as "a person-centered, relationship-based approach to integrate self-care with evidence-based conventional medicine and non-drug treatments." This includes taking into account a patient's mental health, social determinants of health, physical health and lifestyle. To create the report, researchers from the foundation collated a broad range of reports and case studies from various health systems that stand in favor of a whole health approach.
Whole health has been shown to improve health outcomes. Between 2018-2019, more than 130,000 veterans with chronic pain received integrated healthcare for 24 months and subsequently reported improvements in ability to manage pain, healthier decision making and felt more engaged in their healthcare. In a University of Arizona study, the 177 patients enrolled in a whole health program saw an improvement in reports of quality of life, better sleep and healthier life choices.
The approach can also save health systems money, with the VA reporting 12 percent to 24 percent lower costs in all categories except drugs making for an average of $4,845 total savings per patient per capita. It's also popular with physicians, with 67 percent of 1,133 VA physicians reporting a "much better" or "somewhat better" quality of life since practicing integrative medicine.
Read the full report here.