The first significant sign of what the Bravewell Collaborative might do with the IOM Summit was the coalition formed with the AARP, the US Chamber of Commerce and the Prince's Foundation. More recently, Bravewell informed its donors that it would hold a major event in Washington, DC on November 4, 2009, to release a Summit document and promote Summit findings.

There is no doubt the Bravewell is determined to reform US healthcare. The directions it will prioritize were laid out in a statement shortly after the Summit. Bravewell lists eight key points that will shape its course. Are these aligned with your views of "integrative practice?" Put in a more challenging way: Do you believe that your profession and your practice are aligned with and honors these not just in word but in deed? If not, should your practice or profession be better aligned?

Notably, in the same statement, Bravewell offers an updated definition of its view of "integrative medicine." Those who were present will note that the organization is still has not adopted the term that seemed to be preferred by many at the Summit: "integrative health care."

"Integrative medicine is described as orienting the health care process to create a seamless engagement by patients and caregivers in the full range of physical, psychological, social, preventative and therapeutic factors known to be effective and necessary for the achievement of optimal health."

Factors to be Considered in Upcoming
Healthcare Reform Efforts

- Bravewell Collaborative

(from this webpage)

• The progression of many chronic diseases can be reversed and sometimes even completely healed through lifestyle modifications. Lifestyle modifications programs have been proven to not only improve people's overall health and wellbeing but to also mitigate cardiac disease and prostate cancer, among other chronic conditions.

• 

  Christy Mack, Bravewell president
  
  Genetics is not destiny.  Recent research by Dean Ornish, MD, and others has shown that gene expression can be turned on or off by nutritional choices, levels of social support, stress reduction activities such as meditation, and exercise.

• Our environment influences our health.  Mounting evidence suggests that the environment outside one's body rapidly becomes the environment inside the body.

• Improving our primary care and chronic disease care systems is paramount.  Participants widely agreed that our primary care system is in danger of collapse and that we must retool how both primary and chronic disease care are delivered.  The new system must focus on prevention and wellness, and put the patient at the center of care.

• The reimbursement system must be changed.  The Summit grappled with the current reimbursement system that rewards procedures rather than outcomes and urged changes that would incentivize physicians to focus on the health outcomes of their patients.

• Changes in education will fuel changes in practice.  Implementation of an integrated approach to health care requires changes in provider education.  All health care practitioners should be educated in the importance of compassionate care that addresses the biopsychosocial dimensions of health.

• Evidence-based medicine is the only acceptable standard.  Researchers and practitioners alike concurred that health care should be supported by evidence and urged further research and testing to expand the evidence base for integrative models of care.

• A large demonstration project is needed.  Because funding for research on the effectiveness of specific models of care is difficult to obtain from standard grant channels, participants voiced support for pursuing a demonstration project funded by the government that would fully demonstrate the effectiveness of the integrative approach to care.