Health & Fitness
Choices And The Health Care That Works For You
Having options for health care is very important — like a menu, it feels better to choose than face an ultimatum.
Ever been to a restaurant and not had a choice? I went to my favorite Thai restaurant in Waltham the other night, , which offers many excellent menu options. But I tried to imagine how I would feel, if the only option was Red Curry with white rice. Seriously, what would I do? Would I stick around and place an order, even if I really loved red curry? No.
Recently a friend of mine pointed out an article on fiercehealthcare.com that shows more hospitals are offering more complementary and alternative medical services (CAM) as alternatives to western medicine, due to patient demand. Here’s what the article says:
"The reasons hospitals choose to offer CAM services is quite revealing," states the report [from American Medical News]." Patient demand (85 percent) is by far the primary rationale in offering these services." Seventy percent of respondents said they find alternative medicine to be clinically effectively. Many hospitals (58 percent), including faith-based organizations, also said that caring for the "whole person" was part of their organizations' missions.
That got me thinking. I realized that life is all about choices.
No one likes to be presented with one option. The restaurant menu analogy makes this so clear to me. And maybe that is what is happening today in the realm of health care — providers see that offering options on the health care menu is not only appropriate but needed.
I was reading a fellow Patch Blogger, Marisa Fanelli and her recent blog on . I thought, it’s wonderful she has the option to choose that form of health care, and she’s even studying it so she can help others.
For me, health is all about being able to choose the care you want — the care that works for you.
In my case, I grew up in Christian Science but I’ve always known I could use medicine, or even choose a different church to attend, if I wanted. However, I have found Christian Science and prayer to be very effective and useful. Whats more, my health remains great and every health problem was met with confidence based on personal experience.
What health care options are important to you?
