“By using Western medicine to look at the trees and Chinese medicine to look at the forest, we have a much more comprehensive view of health.” Ka-Kit Hui, M.D., F.A.C.P.
In this Article:
Defining Health
Health is an integral component of one’s existence, but what is health? It is a term that is difficult to define and something that means varying things to different people. Yet, it often is an element valued most when it has been lost. Amidst the hectic rhythms of contemporary life, where the cultivation of health and wellness are often neglected, numerous repercussions appear at both the personal and societal levels.
In an effort to address the increasing cost and decreasing effectiveness of our current health care system, the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine (CEWM) has developed a unique, evidence-based health model that incorporates principles originating in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, and applies them in a synergistic manner. Practitioners at the Center take a systems approach to address the needs of the whole person and to restore balance and well-being. The ultimate goal is to help the person achieve a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” which is the World Health Organization’s current definition of health.
The East-West Medicine Model of Care
“By using Western medicine to look at the trees and Chinese medicine to look at the forest, we have a much more comprehensive view of health.” Ka-Kit Hui, M.D., F.A.C.P.
At the CEWM Clinic we have achieved successful outcomes with a diverse patient population suffering from a wide variety of medical conditions. Integrative East-West medicine, as practiced at CEWM, operates within the biopsychosocial framework developed in the West, while also incorporating diagnostic approaches and therapeutic modalities originating from traditional Chinese medicine. Patients are evaluated by board-certified internists with varying levels of background in traditional Chinese medicine, and care is delivered by a team of dual-trained internists, nurse practitioners, acupuncturists, and health educators. Our clinicians design an individualized, low-tech, low-cost, and high-touch treatment plan for each patient that comprises a combination of lifestyle coaching, medication adjustments, and diet recommendations, as well as techniques such as acupuncture, trigger point injections therapeutic massage, and body-mind exercises.
Key Components of the East-West Framework
The comprehensive East-West health model combines the strengths of Western biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), one of the oldest healthcare traditions in the world. At CEWM, clinicians who are dual-trained in Western medicine and TCM have developed the expertise to integrate both forms of care in their practice. The unique integrative East-West approach at CEWM is characterized by the following:
Ka-Kit Hui, MD, FACP
Wallis Annenberg Professor in Integrative East-West Medicine
Professor, Founder and Director
UCLA Center for East-West Medicine
Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine
By Shannon Wongvibulsin, BS Candidate, UCLA 2014
UCLA Center East-West Medicine, Staff Writer