What is ‘whole person care’ really?

“We treat the whole person.”

It’s as if hospitals and medical practices all went to the same marketing seminar and came out with a buzzy new slogan. Are they really providing “whole-person care,” or is it simply an advertising strategy?

First, let’s talk about what whole-person care is.

It’s not a new concept, for one thing. It has at its core “integrative medicine,” a philosophy of healing that has spanned civilizations and centuries, from Mesopotamia to ancient Greece and Rome, to traditional Chinese medicine. It’s a patient-centered approach that uses a combination of conventional and complementary therapies to improve health and wellness.

Conversely, what people consider “Western medicine” is allopathic care, which uses conventional, evidence-based methods like drugs, surgery and other interventions to diagnose and treat diseases. In its most traditional forms, allopathic care treats patients as a bundle of symptoms in need of fixing, rather than a person in need of healing.

Today, many hospitals and health care providers have moved away from purely allopathic medicine. A recent survey by the American Hospital Association found that 42% of hospitals integrate some form of complementary treatments into patients’ care plans.

Whole-person care (let’s call it WPC for now) considers not only a person’s physical conditions, but also their mental, emotional, social and spiritual needs. To that I would add their financial needs as well. A person receiving cancer treatment may need financial assistance to sustain a healthier diet. A person who has lost their job may not seek the care they need.

WPC involves:

• Integrating medicine with social services.

• Collaborating with social services professionals and community partners.

• Sharing data between specialists.

• Respecting patients’ treatment choices.

So, clearly, it also has to involve a whole lot of professionals — not just medical practitioners (doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists), but also social workers, psychologists, clerics or spiritual advisers, nutritionists, dietitians, meditation and mindfulness coaches, possibly acupuncturists, and patient advocates, who are often the link between the hospital and the home.

I would add to that employers and insurance companies, which are footing the bill but also may benefit from the proactive WPC approach. When there’s a full picture of a person’s physical and psychological health and socioeconomic factors, risk factors can be identified earlier and conditions managed more effectively and efficiently, resulting in lower medical costs and improved productivity.

Theoretically, WPC would deliver services to people where they are, at prices they can afford, which should mean healthier individuals and communities.

So that’s the big picture. The real question is: Does whole-person care exist in the real world, and how do you find it?

A study published in 2021 found that, yes, WPC is out there, but it comes in a variety of forms. For example, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has what it calls “Whole Health.” This approach starts with asking patients what matters to them in their life — their meaning and purpose — and then capturing 10 areas of behavior, lifestyle and social support to create a “personal health plan.”

The study concluded that a more standard definition of whole-person care is needed.

I think you have to intentionally look for whole-person care rather than wait for it to find you. A good starting place is a private patient advocate, who takes time to understand all the facets of good health and can then communicate effectively with practitioners.

What are the characteristics of whole-person care? Here’s what to look for:

• Multidisciplinary teams of health care professionals including doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists and potentially community outreach workers.

• Assessment of social factors that may affect health, such as housing, food security and transportation.

• On-site or readily accessible mental health services within your primary care practice.

• Care coordination across different providers and settings.

• A patient-centered approach in which your needs and desires are prioritized.

Medicare Advantage plans often include aspects of WPC. You might also find it at community health centers, larger health care systems and public health departments.

For now, it appears to me that what many hospitals are calling “whole-person care” doesn’t include all of the other facets that would truly define it, the social, emotional, psychological, environmental and financial aspects.

If you’re not getting what you think you need to fully heal from a procedure or improve a chronic condition, it’s up to you to advocate for yourself or find someone to help you.

• Teri (Dreher) Frykenberg, a registered nurse, board-certified patient advocate and author, is the founder of Nurse Advocate Entrepreneur, which prepares medical professionals to become private patient advocates. Reach her at Teri@NurseAdvocateEntrepreneur.com. Readers with questions about patient advocacy may contact Margo Marasa, owner of Allegiance Patient Advocacy, for a free consultation. Contact her at margo@allegiancepa.org or (773) 732-0762.