Recent reports in the Guardian highlight concerns around what certain professionals have called ‘overdiagnosis’. This term implies that professionals are quick to hand out diagnoses, without first assessing how the person got to the point of needing the diagnosis in the first place.
While treatment of a condition is imperative, these professionals argue that addressing the root cause of the condition is equally important.
The author of the article, Dr Sebastian Kraemer explained how mental health services had become overwhelmed by a rising demand for mental health care in recent years. He said that in many instances, the person’s condition was diagnosed and treated by pharmaceutical intervention without first ascertaining how they came to develop the condition. He explained that in many instances, personal circumstances had a direct impact on the person’s condition and asked why these were not highlighted.
Giving schizophrenia as an example, he said how social injustices like abuse could contribute to the condition. However, medical professionals often didn’t go past the treatment side of the condition, to address the causative reasons, such as the social environment.
Holistic Treatment Of Conditions: Is It Necessary?
Dr Kraemer’s statements support an increasing trend in medical and psychiatric circles to address conditions in a holistic way, and not just through methods to alleviate symptoms.
It’s not just psychological disorders which have root causes. Physical conditions, such as heart conditions or the autoimmune condition affecting the thyroid, Hashimoto’s, can also have environmental, physical and social triggers.
For example, poor diet and stress can impact heart health. In the event of Hashimoto’s, stress or certain deficiencies or allergens in the diet or environment, can cause the body to develop an autoimmune response, which targets the thyroid gland. While medication can be administered to help the thyroid regulate its production of valuable hormones, the root cause of the condition is often not addressed by professionals.
While treating a condition is imperative, understanding the cause is just as paramount; as lifestyle and environment changes can provide a holistic approach towards the patient getting better.
Why Diagnosis Might Take Precedence Over Root Cause Investigations
Reports cite various reasons why doctors and professionals don’t always give the necessary attention to understanding the root cause of conditions. Oftentimes, doctors have very limited time with each patient (usually around 10 to 15 minutes per appointment). These time constraints mean that they have to focus on managing the patient’s symptoms quickly, rather than exploring the root causes of their symptoms.
At the same time, medical training emphasizes pathology over context. This means that professionals are specifically trained to look for diagnosable conditions and pharmaceutical and surgical solutions. Environmental, psychological and social contributors might be underemphasized in training.
Healthcare systems are also built in such a way as to reward interventions, such as surgeries, prescriptions and tests. Root cause work (such as trauma and nutritional counseling, and social support), is often not seen as ‘medical’ enough.
Doctors also seek to prioritise immediate relief before diving into complex root causes. This makes sense in emergency settings. However, in certain chronic care instances, for example where chronic medication is needed, finding the root cause can eliminate the need for the medication.
Root causes can be quite messy and complex. They can include everything from trauma, to burnout, poverty, environment, biology and psychology.
However, they are important and knowing what is at the heart of the condition and addressing this, can impact the amount of medication prescribed or the nature of the treatment administered. For example, some people have claimed to have positively impacted their thyroid’s functioning and their Hashimoto’s condition through identifying the root cause and eliminating this, while adopting new lifestyle and nutritional behaviours.
A holistic approach, adopted in cooperation with the revelation professionals, is needed.
The good news is that there seems to be a definite move in the medical profession towards holistic healthcare, where prescribing treatment, and tackling root causes go hand in hand.