Whole Person Care: What is Whole Person Care?
The healthcare system faces many challenges. As a result, many have called for new solutions for the many health system challenges. Integrated care, or whole-person care, has been presented as a possible solution to many of our health care system’s issues. But is it effective? In many instances, whole-person care has proven highly effective for both health care providers and patients.
What is The Whole Person Approach?
A whole-person approach is a collaborative approach to treatment. It involves different health professionals coming together to treat a person holistically. They share information about a patient and work to create a treatment plan that includes the biological, social, spiritual, and mental health concerns the patient may have.
Whole person care providers aim to help patients maintain their wellness by discussing all different aspects of their health. This helps to identify health issues better. Why? Whole person care examines all facets of health, and human wellness is dependent on multiple aspects of health.
It is important to note that an integrated approach can look different depending on the health care center using this approach.
The main takeaway is that Whole person care is a collaboration between different health care professionals to treat the whole person.
Whole Person Care: Four-Dimensional Health
Now for the million-dollar question, what aspects of health are included in whole-person care?Â
Practitioners who practice whole-person care use a formal assessment of the major human organ systems. These systems include:
- Skeletal system
- Muscular system
- Nervous system
- Endocrine system
- Lymphatic system
- Integumentary system
- Cardiovascular system
- Respiratory system
- Digestive system
- Urinary system
- Reproductive system
Whole person care practitioners will also observe the patient’s four-dimensional health. The aspects of four-dimensional health include:
Environment:Â Access to healthy food, clean air, and a safe place to get exercise.
Spirit: Moral and faith-based values and beliefs that help to guide a person through life and challenging times.
Mind:Â The overall well-being of a person’s mental health.
Social Health:Â Â The quality of the critical personal and causal relationships. Healthy social relationships lead to better outcomes of health.
What Are The Benefits of Whole Person Care?
The integrated health approach gives doctors a bird’s eye view of your health. In other words, your doctors can get an idea of your overall health. This has a lot of benefits for doctors as well as patients.
- Highly Satisfied Patients
Studies have shown that patients are typically satisfied in an integrated health care system. Patient satisfaction could be higher because their doctors work together to provide effective treatment plans. These treatment plans will target overall health, including mental health, primary health, health screenings, and more.
This collaboration between doctors in different fields creates more effective forms of treatment for patients. This leads to higher levels of patient satisfaction.
- Patients Can Access Other Services FasterÂ
Patients treated by integrated healthcare providers enjoy better access to other services. What does this look like? For example, let’s say someone is suffering from a mental health condition. This individual can easily get referred to a behavioral health/mental health specialist. This is because many different types of doctors work closely together in an integrated system.
Why Is the Whole Person Approach Important?
As we mentioned before, the whole person approach treats the whole of a person. This is important because many illnesses can cause other illnesses. It can be hard to diagnose an illness that is causing symptoms that are not typical of that illness. This is easier with the whole person approach to healthcare.
For example, many people with chronic conditions like arthritis or cancer can also develop depression. According to The National Alliance on Mental Illness, mental health costs America $193.2 billion in lost wages per year. Furthermore, depression is the “leading cause of disability for people aged 15–44 years, resulting in almost 400 million disability days per year, substantially more than most other physical and mental conditions.”
Unfortunately, Millions of people in America who have a mental illness can die 25 years earlier than their counterparts who do not have a mental illness. This is because they are often unaware That their mental illness has direct links to other Physical illnesses.
The whole-person approach to healthcare helps to identify and treat a physical condition caused by mental health.
What Services Does Whole Person Care Offer?
Whole person care can offer many services. This is because many different types of medical professionals will treat patients in whole-person healthcare. A patient can have any of the following specialists aid them in their treatment protocol:
- Registered Nurses
- Public Health Officials
- Psychologists
- Chaplains
- Medical Doctors
- OB/GYNs
- Massage Therapists
- Nutritionists and Dieticians
- Yoga and Meditation Therapists
- Acupuncturists
- Wellness Coaches
- Physical Therapists
- Pharmacists
- Social Workers
These specialists will typically work on a care team and share data regarding the patient. They can collaborate to create the best care plan for the patient. Whole person care services can include:
- Behavioral health
- Dental
- Medical Services
- Other important care services
What Does Science Say About Whole Person Care?
A whole-person care approach sounds great, right? What does science have to say about whole-person health care? Research suggests a connection between diet, lifestyle, health, and disease. This research comprises several large scales, long-term studies like the
- Framingham Heart Study
- Nurses’ Health Study
- Adventist Health Studies
These studies have shown that healthy environments and behaviors can help prevent or reverse chronic illnesses.
Will There Be More Research?
Yes! The National Center for Complementary and Interactive Health (NCCIH) plans to conduct more research on whole-person health. The goal of this research is to understand how conditions are interrelated.
My Community Health Network’s Whole Person Approach to Health Care
My Community Health Network practices whole-person, patient-centered coordinated care. MyCHNs approach to healthcare focuses on building solid relationships with patients. Patients choose their provider and see that provider as much as possible. The provider will be part of a care team that consists of the following healthcare professionals:
- Provider
- Nurse
- Specialist
- Medical, Dental, and Behavioral Health Specialist
- More
The care team and the patient work together for the best health outcome for the patient. This is part of a PCMH (Patient-Centered Medical Home). The PCMH improves communication for all members of the patient’s care team.
To learn more about MyCHN’s approach to whole-person care, please visit our website to chat with one of our agents or call us at (281) 824 – 1480. We Accept Major Insurance, CHIP, Medicaid, & Medicare. Visit any one of our 12 Houston, Texas locations!
Bottom Line
In conclusion, whole-person care is patient-centered care that focuses on all aspects of a person’s health. The whole-person care approach builds better relationships with patients and keeps patients well. Providers work on a care team to ensure the best outcomes for the patient.
Resources
Interprofessional collaboration in health care (nih.gov)
Integrated Health Care (apa.org)
Components of the Next Generation of Integrated Care – National Academy of Medicine (nam.edu)
What Is Integrated Healthcare And Why Is It Important? – Bayless Healthcare
Integrated healthcare: the past, present and future | Integrated Healthcare Journal (bmj.com)
Benefits of the Collaborative Whole Person Care and Human Touch | HMC HealthWorks
