I believe the terms “healthcare system" and "healthcare providers" are misnomers. Since medical care in America has very little to do with producing health, I feel that more appropriate descriptions would be “disease management system” and "disease management providers.”
Some might find this terminology a little coarse, but I feel there is adequate justification. The large majority of Americans visit allopathic medical doctors who are trained to manage their symptoms with pharmaceuticals, technology, and surgery. A patient may feel better in the short run, but in the long term the drugs are just managing the problem, ensuring that the patient will never get well.
The medical system also breaks down the body into individual parts where every specialist focuses on her or his own turf. No one is looking at the whole person. No one is communicating with others about their medical findings. No one is focusing on their diet or lifestyle. No one is searching for the root of their illness. No one utilizes the tremendous ability of the body to heal itself.
This approach may explain why Americans spend almost twice as much money per capita as any other developed country for “healthcare," resulting in dismal outcomes and ranking 67th in life expectancy.
As a prime example, this past year President Biden was declared “healthy” by his White House medical doctor. The press reported that he had five different diseases, while taking medication for each one.
The article went on to insinuate that he was “healthy" because of the drugs. The American medical mantra has become eat, drink, and be merry, and medicines will keep you “healthy."
My concept of health is allowing the body to function with ease without medication while consuming clean air, water, and food with proper exercise, rest, and sleep using minimal doctoring and technology. Adding in social contacts, emotional stability, a connection to the Divine, and a strong purpose in life, a lot of the wellness bases are covered.
The Gillespie Approach fits into this model beautifully by looking for the structural root cause of the health problem. Many patients need to revisit and heal old physical and emotional traumas to experience a new sense of freedom in their bodies.
There absolutely is a place for the current medical approach for emergencies and other situations, but I believe that patients need to follow a different path to experience true health.
