A Well-Argued Case for Individualized Medicine

Here’s a recent blog post where an Ob/Gyn Nurse Practitioner makes a strong case for an individualized approach to medicine, and particularly to hormone replacement therapy.  Marcelle Pick writes,

“Taking hormones remains a controversial topic. What’s frustrating is that patients and healthcare practitioners alike have gotten very good at lumping things into ‘all good’ or ‘all bad’ categories. Hormones are a perfect example of something that requires individualized medicine….The bottom line is that we don’t have one magic bullet for aging that works for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, there is magic to staying young. It’s just not the same for everyone…. My hope is that we as patients and healthcare practitioners can stop putting certain treatments into ‘all good’ or ‘all bad’ categories. Each of us has a unique set of genes, life experiences, and outlook on life. Let’s leave the question about using hormones to individuals and their health care providers.”

I agree that the question of whether to use hormone replacement therapy is best answered on a case-by-case basis.  It’s great to read another practitioner’s argument for this kind of individualized approach to health.

In her blog post, Ms. Pick also gives five concise tips for healthy aging that are similar to our Healthy Living Checklist at Koshland Pharm.  She adds an important idea to the ones we’ve listed on our Healthy Living Checklist: find more joy and fun as it’s good for our health!

Here’s to finding joy and fun in your day today!  ~  Peter