Integrative Medicine seamlessly blends Eastern and Western medical traditions into an informative and readable resource.
Author, Kathleen Phelan brings her skills as an investigative reporter and her experience as a medical writer to bear in a tour de force-part history. part story. part resource- for any reader seriously interested in his or her own well-being and in the future of medicine and medical treatment in this country Once considered "alternative; Eastern medicine has gained widespread acceptance by the general public, but it is the blending (or integration) of Eastern healing with Western medicine that is now commanding the attention of the medical community.
Dating the birth of integrative medicine to 1971, when James Reston brought the concept of acupuncture and Chinese herbs to America's shores, Phelan traces a movement that's grown into a $15 billion dollar industry in a generation .
Through interviews with Eastern and Western practitioners and their clients, she puts a human face on the "crisis" of medical care in our time. With extensive detail, she recounts the history of both Eastern and Western medicine, presenting the best-and sometimes exposing the myths-of both ancient cures and current high-tech methods.