Moving from “What’s the Matter with You?” to “What Matters to You?”

Osher Integrative Medicine Grand Rounds; Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Presenter: Ben Kligler, MD, MPH, Veterans Administration

Whole health is an approach to health care that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being, and live their lives to the fullest.

 Whole Health is VA’s approach to care that supports your health and well-being. Whole Health centers around what matters to you, not what is the matter with you. This means your health team will get to know you as a person to develop a personalized health plan based on your values, needs, and goals. Health outcomes in our country are poor; the US is now ranked 32nd in life expectancy, despite spending far more on health care than any other country. It is time to create a health system, rather than a disease care system; one that empowers and equips Veterans to discover a new path to health and well-being.

Whole Health puts you in control of your care. It focuses on self-care, skill-building, and support. These services are not diagnosis or disease-based but support the personal health plan of each Veteran. Approaches such as stress reduction, yoga, tai chi, mindfulness, nutrition, acupuncture, and health coaching are available. You don’t have to wait until something is wrong to improve your well-being. Whole Health encourages you to set goals based on what is important to you and work toward those goals with your health team.

Studies show Veterans who use Whole Health services report being able to manage stress better and note the care they receive as being more patient-centered.

Opioid Use reduced by 38% in those Using Whole Health Approach

 Veterans with chronic pain who used Whole Health services had a threefold reduction in opioid use.

From the Veteran Administration PDF Download here https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTH/docs/LWH-Introduction_508.pdf

Watch the video of the January 2022 Grand Rounds with Ben Kligler where he discussed the development and implementation of the Whole Health initiative in the Veterans Health Administration and share early results from the outcomes evaluation currently underway at the 18 Whole Health Flagship sites.