by Mila McManus MD
The Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA] published results of a 2019 study which assessed the association between functional medicine and patient-reported health-related quality of life. The cohort study compared 7252 patients treated in a functional medicine setting with matched patients in a primary care setting over a 6 to 12 month period. These patients exhibited significantly larger improvements in patient reported outcomes at six months and sustained at 12 months. The findings of this study suggest that functional medicine may have the ability to improve global health in patients.
It comes as no surprise to us, and it was nice to see a study reported by well-respected JAMA confirming what we have seen for more than 17 years here in our facility. Our practice is a health model rather than a disease model. It’s health care which integrates treatment of the whole human system according to individual needs, promoting healing and restoring optimal function. If you’re not already seeing a functional medicine specialist, what are you waiting for? If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
JAMA Network Open.2019;2(10):e1914017.doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.14017
