Tenth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Think about Slow Medicine being much like the Slow Food Movement. Enslaved by speed and efficiency, we have lost connection with wellness and the pleasures it brings. Slow Medicine is a healthcare philosophy that rescues time as an essential part of the medical approach. Time to listen to the patient. Time to understand the whole person before giving a diagnosis. Time to reflect what would be the best medicine/therapy for a particular patient. Time to find the root cause of the imbalance. Time to let the body heal. Our current system is characterized by lack of time: Quick consultations, hurried professionals, anonymous specialists, etc. This is a state of urgent care, not of health care. Slow Medicine brings back the art of health care: Solid relationships with patients and families, emphasizes clinical reasoning, and truly takes to heart the First Hippocratic Oath of “primum non nocere” (do no harm). Slow Medicine has been practiced by traditional cultures for centuries. Traditional forms of healthcare have used Mother Nature as a basis for determining imbalance and “dis-ease” in the body. They utilize whole food, herbs and mindfulness practices to heal the body, mind and spirit. Slow Medicine is a way of taking that inherent knowledge our body already has and applying it to modern health practices. Slow Medicine takes time to look at the whole person and all aspects of health in their lives. From food, to sleep, to relationships, to the environment, all these factors determine the health of an individual.