I To Life!

ON THE COVER

34 -1:6"::::C‘'.!;IIT

Henry Bechek of Orchard Lake

receives intravenous vitamins

from Dr. Mark Hertzberg.

ers the whole person — mind,
body and spirit — as well as all
aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes
the therapeutic relationship
between patient and practitioner
and makes use of all appropriate
therapies, conventional and
alternative.
Most major local medical
facilities have a CAM depart-
ment, including William
Beaumont Hospital, Henry Ford
Hospital, St. Joseph hospitals and
Detroit Medical Center, as well as
the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minn.
CAM practices, once consid-
ered unorthodox in the U.S., are
becoming part of the main-
stream healthcare repertoire
after rigorous scientific investi-
gation-shows them to be safe
and effective.
Based on a 2002 survey by the
U.S.-based Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 36 per-
cent of adults use some form of
CAM. When megavitamin thera-
py and prayer specifically for
health reasons are included in
the definition of CAM,.that num-
ber rises to 62 percent. When
prayer is included in the defini-
tion, the domain of mind-body
medicine is the most commonly
used domain (53 petent). Most
people use CAM to improve their
health in combination with
medical treatments (55 percent).
Clearly, supplements and
alternative therapies are gaining

,

Ruthan Brodsky
Special to the Jewish News

Physicians
merge
conventional
and
unconventional
medical
therapies.

December 1 -2005

D

r. Robert Levine believes
he is a better doctor
today then when he
started practicing because he
now integrates conventional and
alternative medical treatments.
"We no longer need to cling to
the mechanistic, fix-me mentali-
ty traditionally advocated in
health care Dr. Levine said.
"We have the capacity to
reverse the ever-increasing inci-
dences of chronic disease, pre-
mature aging and a shrinking
quality of life by treating the
total individual rather than
treating only their symptoms.
My goal is to work with my
patients as their partner in heal-
ing."
His newly opened Elle Medical
Spa in Birmingham offerS con-
ventional and alternative health
practices, including acupunc-
ture, body cleansing, pain. con-

trol, hot-stone massage, oxygen
massage, facials and peels, and
anti-aging treatments.
Like a growing number of
physicians — in private practice
and at medical institutions —
motivated by patient requests
and the changing economics of
health care, Dr. Levine has
embraced alternative approaches
while keeping himself rooted in
conventional medicine.
Integrative, or complementary
and alternative medicine (CAM)
is healing-oriented and consid-

Resources

• M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has an extensive review of
the science of complementary medicine divided into specific
areas: www.mdanderson.org/departments/cimer
•The National Institute of Health's National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine provides research,
information and alerts: http//nccam.nih.gov

a legitimate place in medical
practices. Two years ago, for
example, the government
approved acupuncture to treat
osteoarthritis of the knee. Today,
most insurance companies cover
the cost of this treatment.
Yet alternative therapies can
be expensive for the patient.
Most unconventional therapies
are difficult to support financial-
ly in a private practice because
they generally are not covered by
insurance. This may mean the
patient pays the entire fee.
Examples of fees charged by
some physicians for alternative
medical treatments include $10
for the first 15 minutes of an
oxygen massage; $75-$300 for IV
(intravenous) vitamin and min-
eral treatments; and $100-$150
for an acupuncture session.

Enhancing Life

Dr. Mark Hertzberg, a board cer-
tified anti-aging specialist,
believes people are turning to
conventional-alternative medi-
cine -because they hope this
approach will not only treat and
prevent disease but also
enhance their qualify of life.
"I emphasize the importance
of diet and exercise, recommend
intravenous vitamin and miner-
al treatments to increase energy,
and advocate bio-identical hor-
mones for customized hormonal
balance said Dr. Hertzberg,
whose Medical Wellness and
Prevention Clinic is in
Southfield.
"These are hormones formu-
lated from plants that exactly
match the patient's hormone
structure as opposed to synthet-
ic hormones. I make sure my
patients are well informed and
take a good look at their options
for good health."

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