As 2025 approaches, I think it’s time to look at medicine differently. According to several studies, the US spends the most per capita on health care yet we have the shortest average lifespan. In my humble opinion, we are REALLY good at practicing reactive medicine, not so much preventative medicine. Taken from the book Outlive by Peter Attia, MD, he discusses Medicine 2.0 vs Medicine 3.0. Currently, in the US we practice Medicine 2.0. We have got to shift to Medicine 3.0 to truly better the health of the people who live here.
He discusses the differences as follows:
- Medicine 3.0 places a far greater emphasis on prevention than treatment(pg 31).
- Medicine 3.0 considers the patient as a unique individual, not a protocol. What is good for one may not be good for another (pg 31).
- Medicine 3.0 pays more attention to maintaining healthspan, the quality of life. WE must want more out of life than simply the absence of sickness or disability(pg 33).
This is where I feel integrative medicine truly comes in. ChatGPT defines integrative medicine as:“Integrative medicine is an approach to healthcare that combines conventional medical treatments with evidence-based complementary therapies. It focuses on treating the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—rather than just addressing symptoms or diseases. Integrative medicine emphasizes the importance of the therapeutic relationship between the patient and healthcare provider, with a focus on collaboration, prevention, and wellness.
The goal is to integrate the best practices from both conventional medicine (such as prescription medications, surgery, and medical technology) and complementary treatments (like acupuncture, nutrition, massage, herbal medicine, meditation, and yoga) to optimize health and healing. The treatment plan is often personalized, considering not just the physical condition but also mental, emotional, and social factors that influence well-being.
Key aspects of integrative medicine include:
- Holistic Care: Considering the whole person, not just the illness.
- Patient-Centered: Involving the patient in decision-making and emphasizing self-care and lifestyle changes.
- Evidence-Based: Combining scientifically supported treatments with alternative methods that show promise.
- Prevention: Focusing on preventing illness and promoting long-term wellness.”
This is medicine that I feel will truly make a difference in a patient’s life, shifting from Medicine 2.0 to Medicine 3.0. Lets look at labs on a more routine basis, looking for subtle changes that can cause significant problems for the future. Lets keep track of fasting insulin and fasting glucose, intervening before the diagnosis of diabetes.
Lets look at an expanded cholesterol panel, not just the traditional lipid panel that Medicine 2.0 obtains, given the restraints of insurance. Unfortunately, this panel offers very little insight to future cardiovascular risks. Lets try to prevent heart attacks and strokes instead of treating them after they have already happened.
Lets treat thyroid symptoms and optimize its hormones before your symptoms get out of hand, instead of relying on a single marker, TSH, to dictate when treatment is started. Lets look outside the “typical range” of normal, looking at the patient as an individual and tailoring their care for their optimal range, not a “one size fits all” approach.
That is what I hope to offer my patients in 2025, a start to Medicine 3.0. Like Peter Attia discusses, lifespan is the total number of years a person lives. Healthspan, on the other hand, is the number of years a person lives in good health, free of chronic disease and disability(pg 38). Let’s use some concepts of preventative medicine, detecting illness before it affects our healthspan in combination with integrative medicine principles, treating the person as a whole using the best of both western medicine and alternative therapies to truly swing our health pendulum from Medicine 2.0 to Medicine 3.0. Here’s to the best 2025!
