Health Apps, or an Inner Spiritual Sense?

By John D. Clague, Christian Science Committee on Publication for Oregon

@Glowimages

Simplifying our life seems to be getting more complicated. But never fear, there is an app for everything nowadays. Managing each aspect of the most intimate everyday details is being digitized through applications running on ever faster and smarter devices in astounding numbers.

Almost everyone I know owns one of those ubiquitous smartphones or tablets. They seem to be able to do everything a computer can, and then some.

The technological wonder of these devices is surely one reason for their popularity. They can perform more commands per second than the computers in Apollo 8 by an order of magnitude in the thousands. They are cheaper and have far more memory. And you can easily carry them in your pocket.

And then the proliferation of software written specifically for mobile devices has a lot to do with their popularity.

Individual applications, or “apps”, exist for every conceivable function and service. And there are thousands of them. Apple has approved for download more than one million apps. Consumers have downloaded apps from their store more than 25 billion times. The Android download numbers are impressive too.

Managing health has not escaped this trend.

According to Research2Guidance, a global market research firm, nearly 247 million mobile phone users worldwide are expected to download a health app by the end of 2012. There are as many apps to manage health functions as there are health issues: losing weight, monitoring blood pressure or diabetes, exercising and so on.

There is even a proliferation of apps to assist physicians in making quick and accurate diagnoses and prescribing indicated treatments.

Are all these apps on our mobile devices the ultimate in making us healthier?

One person who might not think so is Dr. Marc Siegel, MD. Through a personal crisis he discovered a phenomenon he calls the inner pulse. It’s an awareness, or “sense”, about what’s happening with one’s body. He says it’s :

“… the fulcrum of a person’s life force, the place where the physical and the spiritual combine. It is the link between your body’s life force and your soul, tangible proof of your connection to a larger reality and of that reality’s strong presence in your body.”

“The inner pulse is more than just instinct and intuition.”… “Clearly, being aware of the inner pulse can change your life dramatically in a positive way.” (pg. 15)

Perhaps, though, the inner pulse, as Siegel describes it, goes beyond being aware of what’s lurking in our body. The inner pulse may not just tell us what condition the body is in, but may be able to affect health in a dramatically positive way, if we know how to access it.

Olympic skier Janine Shepherd tells the story of her remarkable return from a biking accident that left her paralyzed, yet she went on to a whole new life as a pilot. Told that she would never walk again, she asked, “Why me?” But at her lowest point she began to realize that it wasn’t just about her life. It was about life itself. She began to see that she was not her broken body. In the uncertainty of her circumstances, she found that she was free to explore life’s infinite possibilities. She felt she was responding to a spirit that was bigger than she was.

One day she looked up and saw an airplane flying overhead and said, “That’s it! If I can’t walk, I’ll fly.” She started by taking a flying lesson and went on to learn to walk again, to fly a plane and then to become a flight instructor.

Janine’s experience shows that there is an unmeasurable spirit that can bring out strength and ability far beyond what an app would be able to measure in the body. I call that God, and don’t ever want to underestimate the power it can have to restore a measure of health when human hope is gone.

The Bible says:

“There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the almighty gives them understanding… Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. (Job 32, Ps. 139)

Janine may know nothing about these Bible passages, but her life certainly embodies the energies of what I call a spiritual sense. I believe this spirit is available for everyone to tap into and receive an impulse like Janine did. Perhaps Dr. Siegel’s “inner pulse” is another way of naming this resource.

I haven’t yet found an app to make that link, but when I do, I will definitely let you know.

Does the health care system know best?

Americans are an independent lot. It’s rooted in the very fabric of this country. We are accustomed to having a choice and making our own decisions. That’s what we expect in our homegrown version of democracy.

We can choose virtually any product or service we want. Any size, shape, color, or model. Except when it comes to our health care.

It seems to me from much of what I’ve read that the patient-doctor relationship is mostly unbalanced. The doctor tells the patient what’s wrong, and what needs to happen to fix it. Our health care system forces doctors to quickly address the offending symptoms and move on.

In the United States more is spent per patient on health care than in any other developed country in the world.

For all the wonders of our nation, its unparalleled standard of living and freedom of choice, does this ensure that we are the healthiest country with the longest lifespan?

The United States came in at 37th place in the World Health Organization’s assessment of overall health outcomes of all nations in 2010. According to the CIA World Factbook, the U.S. currently ranks 50th for life expectancy. In 1950 we ranked 5th for women and 10th for men.

According to Gallup Polls, “Americans’ evaluations of healthcare coverage…show that much less than a majority of Americans are positive in their overall evaluations of coverage and cost of their healthcare.”

@ iStockphoto/Tom Hahn

Could it be that people are not satisfied because they don’t have much voice in their health care? Are their care expectations being met?

Shannon Brownlee makes the point in her book Overtreated. Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer, that:

Strengthening the patient’s role in choosing a particular treatment or test is an important aspect of moving toward more efficient care. (pg.. 297)

A health care system allowing a more responsive patient-doctor relationship could provide for more effective two-way communication. The doctor could better understand the underlying causes of the patient’s symptoms and the patient could actually choose treatment options that fit better within his or her values.

Emerging aids to facilitate this process are decision tools that help patients make their own choices about health care. As Brownlee points out:

“…informing patients better, will very likely decrease overutilization rates:…clinical trials show that the use of decision aids leads to a decline in demand for surgery ——- about 25 percent overall.” (pg. 298)

Fewer tests and invasive procedures would lower costs and reduce the risk of adverse consequences.

This appears to be a central theme in shifting our health care delivery system. In her paper Emerging Patient-Driven Health Care Models Melanie Swan makes the observation that “The growing presence of patient-driven health care models may be central to the evolving health ecosystem. Individuals are starting to better manage their health.”

Within those models can be included all manner of alternative and integrative care. The whole patient needs to be attended to, including mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs.

In the late 1800s spiritual healer Mary Baker Eddy introduced a form of health care that puts the patient’s needs at the center of their care. She explains in her major work, Science and Health:

“Give sick people credit for sometimes knowing more than their doctors. Always support their trust in the power of Mind to sustain the body. Never tell the sick that they have more courage than strength. Tell them rather, that their strength is in proportion to their courage.” (pg. 417)

Patient-centered health care starts with our thoughts, whether they’re using a decision aid regarding the conventional health care paradigm, or addressing the connection between thinking and bodily health. Certainly better decision-making in a medical system is a good thing.

Is it reasonable to conclude that spending more time discovering the patient’s mental state and behaviors determined by their thoughts, and encouraging and strengthening the healthier thoughts, could be the basis for improved health?

Originally published on OregonLive

John Clague is a retired sheriff’s office captain, father of two grown sons, and husband. He now works with the media to ensure accurate representation of Christian Science.

Chronic Pain, we don’t have to depend on it.

We seem to be creatures of habit. Most of us feel comfortable when at least a portion of our lives is predictable and our relationships are dependable. That’s certainly true for me. I get comfort in knowing that from day to day my life won’t change dramatically.

There are some parts of our life, however, that we might not want to stay the same.

Perhaps we’d like to get rid of those extra pounds we’ve been lugging around. Or maybe we feel a change in employment would be a good thing.

Some people would like to change their relationship with chronic pain. Unrelenting pain that they come to expect day in and day out. It has become an integral part of their life.

©iStockphoto/Squaredpixels

Maia Szalavitz reports in TIME Healthland that “…serious, chronic pain affects at least 116 million Americans each year, many of whom are inadequately treated by the health- care system..”

There are many kinds of pain people may suffer from: headache, low back pain, arthritis pain, and pain without any identifiable source.

Another form of pain is “Fibromyalgia… a common syndrome in which a person has long-term, body-wide pain.

In the quest for relief from this national epidemic, many remedies have been offered, such as drugs (including marijuana), acupuncture, electrical stimulation, brain stimulation, and surgery. Placebos have been used, which sometimes have resulted in a lessening or elimination of pain. Psychotherapy, relaxation therapies, biofeedback, and behavior modification are also on the list of tried solutions.

Try as we may, nothing seems to adequately solve this public health problem. It results in millions, if not billions of dollars in lost worker productivity and health care costs.

Are these the only options for treating chronic pain?

Marilyn Baetz and Rudy Bowen looked at regular church attendance and spirituality as factors in treating chronic pain and found that they were associated with better psychological well-being. They conclude that frequency of religious worship attendance should be considered in the development of interventions to address pain.

Amy B. Wachholtz and Francis J. Keene of Duke University Medical Center support these conclusions in their own research into managing pain from migraine headaches.

“One recent study found that by using positive spiritual meditation [or prayer] twenty minutes a day, patients with frequent migraine headaches were able to improve their pain tolerance and reduce their frequency and severity…. This research indicates that patients with chronic pain conditions can be taught to use their existing spiritual resources in novel ways to reduce the negative impact that pain has on their lives.

Nineteenth century spirituality and health innovator, and founder of the Christian Science Church, Mary Baker Eddy explains in her book, Science and Health:

Whatever guides thought spiritually benefits mind and body. [page 149]

Baetz and Wachholz, seem to be finding, through research, what Eddy pointed out a century and a half ago. Spiritualization of thought can benefit the body, the seat of chronic pain.

Of all the research conducted on treating chronic pain, spirituality and prayer might be a fertile field with opportunities to uncover just how critical a role they play in treating this far too common condition.

Previously published in the Oregonian

John Clague is a retired sheriff’s office captain, father of two grown sons, and husband. He now works with the media to ensure accurate representation of Christian Science.

Health Insurance–Everyone pays but is Everyone covered?

I heard someone recently talking about an acupuncture treatment that had helped him. He joked, “It may have been a jab well done, but I sure wish it was covered by my insurance!”

©iStockPhoto/courtneyk

All over the country, the question of health insurance is being pondered by governments, uninsured individuals, and employers, as they try to sort out what the new laws will require of them. And the insurance companies are looking at what coverage they can provide and at what cost.

The US spends more per patient on health care than any other developed country in the world. We now spend more than $2.5 trillion annually on medical care–a little less than 20% of the GDP. According to a Fox news report, in 1950, Americans spent about $70 billion in today’s dollars on health care. “After adjusting for inflation, we now spend as much on health care every ten days as we did in the entire year of 1950.”

Yet, In 2010, the World Health Organization assessed the overall health outcomes of each nation. The United States came in 37th.

And in a 2005 Johns Hopkins University analysis, “On most health indicators, the US relative performance declined since 1960; on none did it improve.”

In Oregon, as we move towards full implementation of our own health care reform and the federal Affordable Care Act, let’s not lose sight of our goal. Health insurance is certainly a means to the end, but it’s not the end itself.

Good health is the outcome people are looking for.

We need to be sure that all options for achieving and maintaining health are provided for in this reform, not just the use of conventional medicine. An expanded area of coverage that could be good business for everyone is some form of spiritual care. This kind of care can embrace many options, including complementary and integrative medicine.

While conventional health care costs are skyrocketing, many of these treatments are more modestly priced, less invasive, and with fewer side effects. And research shows that where responsibly used, they are safe and effective.

Americans are willing to spend $34 billion each year out of their own pocket on these alternative treatments, and in their experience there is good reason for this. They feel healthier than with conventional medicine alone. And some feel they get better overall care. Among the alternative treatments noted in the longest running survey on the trends in patient choice of alternative medical care, the number one top choice is prayer or spiritual care.

According to economist Robert Samuelson escalating health care costs will be especially hard on our children. “To aid the young, we could tighten Social Security, and Medicare, raising eligibility ages, and reducing payouts for wealthier retirees.” But, he says, this is politically unlikely.

Corporations and governments are rightly concerned about the proportion of income that now goes to cover health care, both for current and retired employees. Warren Buffet called General Motors “a health and benefits company with an auto company attached.” The price of every new car includes more than $1,500 for employee health care costs. And Starbucks spends more money on insurance for its employees than it spends on coffee.

Insurance companies operating in Oregon could take the first step of providing coverage for less costly treatments. At least one insurance company that tried this in another state found it to be good for its bottom line.

Right now insurance companies are making decisions on what will be included in their coverage at or above the “essential benefits” mandated by the federal government. If you have insurance and a special treatment option that could fall under the category of spiritual care, why not let your insurance company know of your interest in having it covered?

Or, you could hope to come across a doctor like comedian Joey Bishop’s, who said, “My doctor is wonderful. Once, when I couldn’t afford an operation, he touched up the x-rays.”

Previously published in the Oregonian

John Clague is a retired sheriff’s office captain, father of two grown sons, and husband.  He now works with the media to ensure accurate representation of Christian Science.

One path to health care, or another choice?

By John D. Clague, Christian Science Committee on Publication for Oregon

I’m curious about what’s missing in Oregon’s media on health and health care. You see plenty on health care reform, lots on the latest trends in conventional medical research, and much discussion about society’s hopes for a cure to our most obstinate health challenges. What you don’t see reported much is the public’s increasing pursuit of alternative and integrative health practices.

People are concerned about their health, evidenced by the fact that 80% of adult internet users are looking for information about health. And I believe that people are looking for solutions to their health concerns outside the mainstream system.

One emerging trend is the inclusion of alternative and integrative medical services by hospitals in their array of offerings because many of these practices are proving to be effective, they are less expensive than traditional care, and the public is using these services more and more.  In fact,  Americans pay $34 billion per year out of pocket for complementary and alternative medicine.

However, Michelle Andrews reports in Kaiser Health News:

“Although research supporting the efficacy of various complementary therapies is increasing, if hospitals confined themselves to those procedures supported by evidence there wouldn’t be much to offer,” says Ian Coulter, a senior health policy analyst at the Rand Corp. “(The same could be said of many conventional medical treatments, or course.) So hospitals pick and choose, based on what they judge to be most effective and what they believe patients want.”

According to a  survey by the American Hospital Association and the Samueli Institute, the most common treatments offered by hospital outpatient centers were massage therapy, acupuncture, and guided imagery (visualization and mental techniques designed to reduce stress). Pet therapy, massage, and music/art therapy are the most popular on an inpatient basis.

One practice not listed above, but practiced by 49% of those surveyed, is prayer. I practice prayer on a regular basis with good results.  I also value the practice of a healthy lifestyle.

I don’t pay a lot for my health care, and in fact I don’t have any negative side effects. What I do have is good health and I feel good, mentally and physically.

I’m wondering why Oregonians aren’t reading or hearing much about these trends in health care.  Sure, they aren’t the dominant resource for a healthy life in today’s complex society, but certainly they’re significant enough to warrant regular attention for the benefit of Oregon citizens.