Our Services » Integrative Assessment » Integrative Assessment
An integrative assessment provides a more complete picture of the symptoms you have, how they affect your body, your mind and your life as a whole - and may help identify the root causes of your illness. A conventional history and physical examination generally focus on your current problem, what diseases you already have and what medications you may be taking.
An integrative approach includes a broader range of questions about lifestyle, environment, patterns of thinking and relationships. The objective is to get a more complete picture of the impact of your illness and identify things you can do to improve your illness that may be overlooked in a conventional medical approach.
It also takes into account the many inter-relationships between different body systems that the world of conventional medicine does not yet consider. The most basic one is based on the link between digestion and the immune system, but there are many others that are based on imbalances as seen through the eyes of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine.
Canada lags far behind the rest of the world in the use of Integrative Medicine. German physicians prescribe herbs just like drugs, and Homeopathy is routinely used by physicians in the UK. Many American hospitals and universities have programs in Integrative Medicine - Harvard, Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic, Duke University, UCLA and the Mayo Clinic are just a few. The National Institutes of Health has established a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Even countries like China and India are taking a new look at their own healing traditions.
Our integrative assessment draws on the knowledge and tools of conventional medicine, homeopathic medicine, naturopathic medicine, Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, environmental medicine and mind-body medicine. Each of these disciplines offers a unique perspective that is important for understanding the causes of disease and the best way to return to health.
Although Dr. Nahas is a licensed physician and can bill OHIP for practicing conventional medicine, OHIP does not currently recognize the part of the assessment that is based on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) principles. Some of our patients have raised questions and concerns about how we bill for our services. Because our approach is unusual and new to most people, we feel it is important to be clear about what we do and why.
Solving health problems takes time. In order to properly diagnose and treat complex symptoms, Dr Nahas asks many questions and explores many issues, both past and present. This approach is very different from the standard visit with your doctor that lasts a few minutes and usually deals with one symptom at a time.
Some of these questions are part of a search for the root causes of your problem. Many of these root causes - such as environmental factors, toxic metal exposure, subtle hormone imbalance, mind-body and nerve-related factors - are not considered ‘real diseases' by conventional medicine. Other doctors practicing integrative medicine have been harshly criticized by the Ministry of Health for asking the Ontario government to pay for unconventional medicine.
A part of your visit is paid for by the Ministry of Health. This is for time spent on tests, treatments, specialist visits and other issues related to your conventional medical diagnosis and treatment. The aspects of your care that are not recognized by conventional medicine are billed directly to you at a rate of $150 per hour. Although it is possible to request payment from OHIP for time spent with a patient, alternative medicine diagnosis or treatment are not recognized as valid reasons to submit these codes. Directly billing you is only way to make it possible to spend time on these important issues.
Our decision to take this approach was based on the need to avoid the legal and political problems other integrative physicians have faced. It was not based on a desire to earn more money. The end result is an hourly rate for medical consultations that is very similar to that earned by most family physicians.
The assessment helps to identify the most likely causes of your illness and how it affects your life. In some cases, the assessment may point to further testing that needs to be done. After sharing our understanding of what factors may be causing or contributing to your illness, we will recommend specific therapies that target these factors. Some therapies may target symptoms, others may target causes. Some are administered by you, some take place at the Seekers Centre, and others are provided by our growing network of trusted partners in healing.