The Need for Holistic Healthcare

In 2021, the United States continued to maintain its status as the country with the highest health care expenses per capita of about 13,000 dollars, followed by Germany with 7,383 per capita, which means that Americans spend an average of just a little under 50% more than the second highest spender. It’s no wonder health care costs have been a concern for middle- and lower-class citizens. Rather than prioritizing health and doing what’s in the best interest of the people, the American health system has become more focused on maximizing profits by encouraging drugs, surgeries, and specialized care, which has caused healthy people to be needlessly kept sick and dependent on medication. Thus, I believe that there should be a shift from exclusively curative care towards preventative and holistic medical care so that patients can be provided with adequate health service.

Holistic healthcare is a form of integrative healthcare, which means that rather than individualizing each bodily system separately from the whole, an individual can focus more on lifestyle changes and overall quality of life. For example, instead of staying with one physician who knows you and your personal needs, it’s quite normal in the United States to visit many different specialists within a single year for differing issues involving skin, ear, nose, throat, heart, diet, allergy, or hormones. Often, this can lead to over-medicalization and a focus only on treating symptoms. In an article titled Lifestyle VS. Integrative Medicine, it states, “In America, healthcare is primarily…