What Makes Dr. Godby Run? Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Healthiness

“I love this country.  It pains me to see so many people living below the threshold of vitality,” says Dr. Dennis Godby, a naturopathic doctor in Sacramento, CA. This summer, Dr. Godby along with family members and friends, will run across the country to emphasize the pressing need to put health back in American health care. The event, titled simply “The Run,” begins in San Francisco, July 17 and ends in Bridgeport, CT, in November. HPC is a proud media sponsor for The Run.

Crafting Illusion & Creating Collusion: How Insurance Industry “Spin” Controls Medical Practice

Doctors–and their patients–have much more to fear from Wall Street than from the government, says Wendell Potter, former director of corporate communications for CIGNA health insurance. Following a crisis of conscience during the debates on the Obama administration’s health care reform plan, Mr. Potter left CIGNA and went public with everything he knows about the insurance industry’s “Dark Arts.” His goal? To wake people up to the ways in which corporate interests manipulate health care policy. His book, Deadly Spin, is as fascinating as it is frightening. In this exclusive interview, Mr. Potter spoke with Holistic Primary Care about the long history of collusion between organized medicine and Big Insurance—an uneasy alliance that has ultimately been detrimental to patients and physicians alike.

Who’s in Bed with the IOM? Vitamin D Report Prompts Conflict of Interest Suspicion

The Institute of Medicine’s Nov. 30 consensus statement claiming most Americans do not need supplemental vitamin D—a position that runs counter to the views of many clinicians and researchers⎯has some folks wondering if committee members had preexisting biases or vested interests against supplementation.

It turns out that at least two members of the committee hold patents on synthetic vitamin D analogs in development or already on the market as prescription drugs, and significant relationships with companies involved in vitamin D drug development.

New Survey Data Highlight Convergence of Conventional & Holistic Medicine

Data from Holistic Primary Care’s first annual survey of primary care physicians reveal that some very positive changes are going on in the trenches of clinical practice these days. A lot more physicians are turning toward holistic approaches, with nutrition taking a much more prominent place in day-to-day practice. It seems that the “integration” we’ve been hearing so much about is really happening!

IMosaic Conference Will Cultivate Coherence & Collaboration

One of the strengths of the integrative/holistic movement is its diversity. But it is also highly fragmented and relations between various professional organizations can be contentious. The Integrative Medicine Consortium, a loose affiliation of 7 distinct associations, hopes to foster coherence and cooperation with its innovative iMosaic meeting next Spring.

Ten Years After: Reflecting on Holistic Primary Care’s First Decade

Holistic Primary Care was born ten years ago, with a simple mission: to build an information bridge between the medical mainstream and the holistic disciplines and to foster a more health-centric approach to health care. A LOT has happened since that first issue rolled off the presses!

Healthcare Reform Makes Primary Care a Prime Focus…But Don’t Expect a Raise

Mr. Gerry Sikorski and his team of 85 health care attorneys have plumbed the depths of the new health care reform bill. They’re uniquely qualified to advise doctors on what to expect. Their bottom line? While the reform plan considers primary care and preventive medicine essential, it isn’t putting much money on the table for primary care doctors, and it won’t make it any easier for solo & small group practices to survive.

Integrative Medicine Leaders Foresee Increased Regulation of Supplements

Grassroots pressure forced Sens. John McCain and Byron Dorgan to withdraw their bill to tighten supplement industry regulation. But leaders in the field say the war has only just begun. Rep. Henry Waxman, an outspoken critic of supplements, has written language in the Wall Street Reform bill that would give the Federal Trade Commission new authority over the industry. Meanwhile Rep. Ron Paul is pushing bills that would curb federal power over health information.

FDA to Docs: See Something? Say Something!

A new program from the Food & Drug Administration is calling on physicians to report about misleading messages from pharmaceutical company reps, especially during private “detailing” visits.

New FDA Data Underscore Supplement Safety & Fast Action When Problems Arise

The first wave of data from FDA’s new Adverse Events Reporting System for dietary supplements shows two important things: The system works, enabling the FDA to act quickly when there’s evidence of life-threatening side effects; and serious adverse events are rare given how widely supplements are used.