Evolving From Reductionism to Holism

EALTH REFORM DISCUSSIONS REVOLVE AROUND HOW best to achieve the goals of cost containment, increasedaccesstocare,andimprovedquality.However, in the current health reform debate, little attention is paid to how medicine is currently taught and practiced. It has long been understood that the fundamental tenets of health arise from understanding the interaction among genomics, the external environment, and behavior.Modernmedicineoftenneglectsthiscomprehensive model and treats disease in isolation, without taking into accountthedynamic,integrativesystemsinthehumanbody. Proponentsofanewapproachinmedicaleducationandpractice look toward “systems medicine,” which incorporates the complex biochemical, physiological, and environmen