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Dr. Ann J Peters Discusses the Importance of the Functional Medicine Movement
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Category Archives: Functional Medicine
MD Longevity Review: The History of Functional Medicine
Susan And Jeffrey Bland
“Twenty years ago, functional medicine was an idea without a movement. It is now a movement that is the single biggest game-changing idea in health care.”
The Functional Medicine Movement became more widely known after inception of The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). Founded 20 years ago by Susan and Jeffrey Bland, the Institute’s charter was conceived as a systems-biology approach to the prevention and management of chronic disease utilizing appropriate tools including nutrition, lifestyle, exercise, environment, structural, cognitive, emotional, and pharmaceutical therapies to meet the individual needs of the patient.
It was the Bland’s vision to change the future of health care by developing new thought leaders and practitioners, skilled at preventing and treating chronic disease. They put it this way: ”We are preparing for the next 20 years with a clear strategic plan based on education, research, and collaboration. Our goal is to reverse the epidemic of chronic disease and to continue advancing the leading edge of knowledge in the decades ahead.”
To accomplish this goal, IFM built an educational platform “using innovative technologies and teaching methods that can be incorporated into medical school curriculums, residencies, fellowships, and continuing medical education”. The Bland’s efforts have lead to the development of research models that evaluate whole-systems practices and treatment plans that involve “individualized and diverse interventions”. To achieve these educational and research goals, IFM has collaborated with leaders in academic medicine, private sector industry, insurers, and government agencies to create pilot programs that will help integrate functional medicine into the nation’s healthcare system.
For more information about Functional Medicine click here: http://blog.mdlongevity.com/blog/?p=178
About Dr. Peters: Dr. Peters medical practice is focused on anti-aging and longevity. Helping clients look, feel and live longer and better by delaying, preventing and reversing the signs and symptoms of aging. She received the most prestigious cosmopolitan education around the world. A graduate with a medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), she completed her medical internships and fellowships at Cornell Medical Center, New York, Harvard School of Public Health and Ospadali Galleria in Genoa, Italy. She is a past scholar of Leopold Schlep Foundation, and the Organization of American States (OAS), New York.
Her medical affiliations include American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, European Academy of Quality of Life and Longevity Medicine and the International Hormone Society. Board Certified with the American Academy of Family Physicians, she is a diplomat with the American Board of Family Practice and an award-recognized physician from Harvard School of Public Health.
MD Longevity Review – Functional Medicine
Functional Medicine is a movement that is now “the single biggest game changing idea in health care”. ”Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership.” Although it was just an idea without a movement twenty years ago, now more than 100,000 practitioners from 73 countries recognise the principles and practices of functional medicine. Practitioners from 46 countries and one-fifth of faculty from every
medical school in America have attended the foundational training course, Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice. This month a major milestone will be met when the first participants in IFM’s Functional Medicine Certification Program will complete their training.
Some very exciting initiatives have come from this unprecedented exposure: Corporations including Google, American Express, and Twitter are exploring the whole-systems approach of functional medicine. Leaders in medicine at major insurers, such as CIGNA, are considering how they can incorporate functional medicine in to pilot projects for chronic disease. Faith-based communities are including functional medicine models in their teaching and the Veteran’s Administration is exploring research programs. With the support of 12 Senators, Medicare will pilot a program to lower premiums for participants in intensive lifestyle treatment programs. Functional medicine courses are being introduced to Residencies and medical school programs.
Even our government medical leaders are impressed: ”In 2009, the US Senate invited testimony on health reform, where functional medicine was brought to the attention of key policymakers”. Other discussions with legislative leaders and staff followed that opportunity and have been very productive. ”Senator Harkin now keeps a copy of the Textbook of Functional Medicine in his Senate office” Later, IFM’s white paper, 21st Century Medicine: A New Model for Medical Education and Practice, was published and received wide spread critical acclaim.
Due to health care reform legislation passage in 2010, the National Council on Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health was created and has an advisory group with leaders in functional medicine. “Other leading authorities in integrative medicine, such as Mehmet Oz, MD, cite functional medicine as a major influence on their thinking”
As the understanding of the benefits of Functional Medicine grow, so will improved health.
About Dr. Peters: Dr. Peters medical practice is focused on anti-aging and longevity. Helping clients look, feel and live longer and better by delaying, preventing and reversing the signs and symptoms of aging. She received the most prestigious cosmopolitan education around the world. A graduate with a medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), she completed her medical internships and fellowships at Cornell Medical Center, New York, Harvard School of Public Health and Ospadali Galleria in Genoa, Italy. She is a past scholar of Leopold Schlep Foundation, and the Organization of American States (OAS), New York.
Her medical affiliations include American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, European Academy of Quality of Life and Longevity Medicine and the International Hormone Society. Board Certified with the American Academy of Family Physicians, she is a diplomat with the American Board of Family Practice and an award-recognized physician from Harvard School of Public Health.