Seasons. You might have heard the name.

And we’ve heard the question many times. But answering the question “What is it that you do at Seasons?” in one sentence is nearly impossible. So we’ll give you the top five answers instead.

Answer #1: Seasons offers wellness from head-to-toe.

It all began with the idea that wellness is all-inclusive. Upon moving to the area and opening his clinic in 2006, Dr. Nathan Goodyear, Seasons’ founding physician, desired to offer his patients more than just a visit to the doctor and a prescription. Instead, real solutions to the nagging health problems that seemed unsolvable was his goal. That six-year journey resulted in a center for wellness from head-to-toe.

Comprised of both Seasons Wellness Clinic and Seasons – The Spa, Seasons offers a range of services that promote healthy living based on 5 Points of Wellness: nutrition, hormone balance, detoxification, inflammation reduction, and exercise. Seasons is conveniently located off Farmerville Highway at 1809 Northpointe Lane in Suites 103 and 202, in the 2-story building behind Portico Bar & Grill.

Dr. Jackie White

Answer #2: Seasons provides leading-edge medical care based on the latest in science combined with the most natural approach possible.

Healthcare professionals, Dr. Nathan Goodyear, Dr. Jackie White, and Anna Stephens, WHNP, seek to provide the highest level of care for every client. Rather than a disease-focused approach, the healthcare team at Seasons strives to uncover the root cause of symptoms and conditions such as: abdominal fat, diabetes, difficulty losing weight, fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, joint pain, trouble sleeping, hot flashes, and many more.

The healthcare team begins with identifying your symptoms and, utilizing the most advanced diagnostic testing available, developing a wellness plan that will rid your body of toxins, recharge your energy, and reinvigorate your immune system. The result is elimination of the root cause of the myriad of symptoms and a return to a state of wellness. And when your body is functioning optimally, prevention and reversal of disease states is a by-product of that state of wellness.

The lobby of Seasons Wellness Clinic

Answer #3: Seasons offers specific health programs such as the Wellness Weight Loss Program and Athlete Wellness Program.

Each of these programs use advanced metabolic testing and a natural approach for optimal results in two specific client groups: those who want to lose weight and those who wish to increase their athletic performance in a healthy and natural way. Each program features an individualized approach and includes testing and treatment to achieve goals set at the beginning of the program.

Answer #4: Seasons serves as a beacon for healthy living in a state that ranks #2 in Unhealthiest States in America.

With a commitment to educate all of Louisiana about health and wellness, Seasons provides and shares the best, most scientifically accurate information available on a daily basis. Seasons has pioneered website and social media usage in the medical community. By developing a blog-based website before blogging was a household word, Seasons began building and gaining traction in the online world, and utilizes social media to share information that is dependable and has depth.

Join the online conversation about health and wellness. Read our blog, subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and catch the latest Wellness Lifestyle Report or Nibble On This recipe in your inbox. You can sign up for the e-newsletter and link to all Seasons’ social sites on our homepage.

The lounge at Seasons - The Spa

Answer #5: Seasons – The Spa offers renewal and rejuvenation without the traffic of the big city.

Do you ever just want to “get away” without going far away? Maybe you need a pick-me-up, a lift-me-up, or a fix-me-up. Seasons – The Spa provides a big-city spa experience in rural and scenic north central Louisiana with a highly-skilled and highly-trained staff.

• Bethany Cox, LMT, provides services including massage therapy, reflexology, and Smooth Shapes, a cellulite reduction treatment.
• Skin care experts Lisa Best and Joy Smith offer services ranging from European facials to microdermabrasions to hair reduction and removal to hydradermie lift, a non-surgical face-lift.
• Anna Stephens, WHNP, specializes in skin rejuvenation services such as Botox, Artefill, and Juvederm. Anna’s great disposition makes clients feel at ease, insuring a comfortable skin rejuvenation experience. Seasons also offers back-door service for those who want a more private consultation. Please call the Spa to arrange back-door service at 318-255-1155.

Yoga Instructor, Ashley Moody

Seasons also boasts the only infrared sauna in the area and offers individual sessions as well as packages for clients desiring the proven health benefits of infrared sauna. Fitness classes include Yoga, featuring certified Yoga instructor Ashley Moody, and Fit4Baby, with local fitness specialist Maryanne Smith. Classes are available in packages at convenient times for any schedule. Sauna and fitness classes are free for Spa Members. For more information about Spa Membership, visit the Spa Membership page on our website or give us a call at 318-255-1155. Keep up with the latest Spa specials by signing up for our e-mail list on our home page. Quarterly Beauty Bonuses come to your inbox and feature discounts and special offers on services and packages.

So did that answer the big question about what is Seasons?

Seasons is health, wellness, relaxation, rejuvenation, education and a whole lot more. For more information or to schedule an appointment, give us a call at 318-255-3223 and speak with a customer relations specialist.

For conventionally grown fruit, (grown with chemical inputs), the Price Look-Up (PLU) code on the sticker of fresh produce consists of four numbers. Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9. Genetically engineered (GE) fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8.

For example:

• A conventionally grown banana would be: 4011
• An organic banana would be: 94011
• A genetically engineered (GE or GMO) banana would be: 84011

These tips are specially important now that over 80% of all processed foods in the US are genetically modified. Many countries in the European Union have banned genetically modified products and produce (including Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg).

For more information about GMOs (genetically modified organisms), read

GM-Oh No! What You Need to Know About Genetically Modified Food.

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Tracy L. Carmack, Xymogen Functional Medicine Educator

Tracy Carmack’s professional background includes a 1980 international science fair first place; internships at University of Idaho’s Endocrinology, UTMB Galveston Biochemistry, ITRI Albuquerque Toxicology; 1984 BS in Bacteriology from the University of Idaho; 1985 Honors Microbiology at Scotland’s Glasgow University Microbiology Departments; 1986 employment in R&D at Pharmacia Diagnostics in Stockholm, Sweden; specialty training with Fluoro-Immune detection in Turku, Finland; Diagnostic robotic training in Manchester, England; 2000 postgraduate training as a Certified Clinical Nutritionist; 2005 Naturopathic Practice and in 2007 joined Xymogen as the North Texas Functional Medicine Consultant.

Could it be true? Could the big name cereal makers have carried out extremely misleading ingredient campaigns by labeling their products “all-natural?” Would they knowingly use ingredients that contain high levels of toxic chemical pesticides and genetically modified ingredients?

Unfortunately, it seems to be true. But don’t feel silly or naive if you’ve bought Kashi (Kellogg’s) brand cereals, Whole Foods’ 365 brand cereals, or Quaker Oats thinking you were making a healthy choice over the sugary cereals. It’s easy to be misled by environmentally friendly packaging with leafy imagery and terms like ‘all-natural’ and ‘whole grain’. Pardon the pun but it’s only natural that you would believe that a product that markets itself to be healthy would be free from pesticide chemicals and genetically engineered ingredients. And here you thought sugar was your biggest concern.

Thanks to social media and the recent investigation and findings by the Cornucopia Institute, GMO (genetically modified organisms) has become a very hot topic. The news that “100% of the soy used in tested boxes of Kashi cereal was genetically engineered soy” became a viral firestorm leaving consumers saying “GM-Oh no they didn’t!” A grocery store in Rhode Island recently pulled Kashi brand products from their shelves and posted a sign in its place that reads:

“You might be wondering where your favorite Kashi cereals have gone. It has recently come to our attention that 100% of the soy used in Kashi is Genetically Modified, and that when the USDA tested the grains used, there were found to be pesticides that are known carcinogens and hormone disruptors.” 

The photo of this sign was liked, shared, pinned, and tweeted faster than Kashi/Kellogg’s PR department can say ‘no comment’! Ouch! However, Kashi has since posted a response to this viral photo on their Facebook page.

What are Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)?

According to The Non-GMO Project, genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are plants or animals created through the gene splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE). Genetic engineering merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial, and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. Virtually all commercial GMOs are engineered to withstand direct application of herbicide and/or to produce an insecticide.

Why should you care if your food contains GMOs?

According to Organicconsumers.com, GMOs have been linked to thousands of toxic and allergenic reactions, thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ and system studied in lab animals. Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and genetically modified food expert, says “eating genetically modified food is gambling with every bite.” Smith links genetically modified organisms (GMO) to toxins, allergies, infertility, infant mortality, immune dysfunction, stunted growth, and death.

While there are arguments for both sides of the issue, here is what you should know about GMOs:

• Currently there is no law dictating that food products containing GMOs must be labeled as such.
• According to the FDA, 93% of soy, 78% of cotton, and 63% of corn is currently genetically modified.
• Approximately 80% of all packaged foods in U.S. grocery stores contain GMOs.
• Animal studies have revealed that mice fed a variety of GM foods have experienced a range of health ailments ranging from stomach ulcerations to allergic reactions to dysfunctional immune systems.
• According to a recent CBS News/New York Times poll, 87% of consumers would like GMO ingredients to be labeled, and 53% of Americans say they won’t buy food that has been genetically modified.
• Experts say that if it comes in a can or a box and the label lists soybean oil or corn syrup as ingredients, odds are that it contains GMOs.

Help make a change! Because the FDA does not require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods, you cannot  make informed decisions about what you are eating or feeding your family. You can tell the FDA that you want the ingredients in your food clearly labeled by visiting Just Label It‘s website.

The staff at Seasons Wellness Clinic is committed to educating north Louisiana and the surrounding areas with the most scientific and reliable information about healthy living. If you have questions about GMOs, leave a comment below, and we’ll be happy to guide you towards the best information and, hopefully, a happier, healthier life! For more information about Seasons Wellness Clinic and Seasons – The Spa, wander around our website to your heart’s content! Or call our office at (318) 255-3223.

Bethany Cox, LMT

As an herb, lavender has been in documented use for over 2,500 years. Today, most people appreciate lavender essential oil for its light, soothing scent, used in soaps, shampoos, perfumes, lotions and many other aromatherapy products. Known for its calming effects, Lavender essential oil helps to relax both the mind and body which is why it is a staple oil in my massage practice at Seasons – The Spa.

Lavender can be diffused for comfort, applied topically for beauty and healing purposes, as well as ingested as a dietary supplement. Lavender essential oil has also been used as a remedy for a range of ailments from insomnia and anxiety to depression and fatigue. Here are a few ways that Lavender essential oil can help you:

Sleep: Recommended for those with sleep problems or insomnia, lavender’s tranquil scent helps to slow brain waves, allowing you to relax and drift off to sleep without the use of medication. Here are a few way you can use lavender essential oil to treat restlessness:

• Add a drop or two to hot herbal tea.
• Rub a few drops onto your hands and spread it over your pillow.
• Add a few drops to your bath and soak.
• Diffuse the oil in your bedroom before bedtime.
  

  Young Living Lavender Farm in Mona, Utah, US

Pain Relief: Lavender essential oil is an excellent remedy for pains including those caused by sore muscles, tense muscles, muscular aches, and sprains. I encourage my clients to have regular massages with lavender oil to provide relief from joint pain.

Respiratory Disorders: Lavender can be used to help heal and soothe throat infections such as the flu, cough, cold, asthma, sinus congestion, bronchitis, whooping cough, laryngitis, and tonsillitis. Here are a few ways that lavender essential oil can be used to heal your respiratory problems:

• Use in the form of vapor by diffusing a few drops at night.
• Apply topically onto the skin of neck, chest and back.
• It can also be added to vaporizers or inhalers for cold and coughs.

Blood Circulation: Lavender can improve blood circulation in the body and has been shown to aid blood pressure control.

Lavender Essential Oil by Young Living

Digestion: Lavender can be useful for digestion as it increases the motility of the intestine. Lavender also aids in treating indigestion and can help alleviate stomach pain, gas pains, vomiting, diarrhea and colic.

Skin Care: Lavender has antiseptic and antifungal properties, and can be used to treat various skin disorders such as acne, wrinkles, psoriasis, and other inflammations. It heals wounds, cuts, burns, and sunburns rapidly because it aids in the formation of scar tissues. Lavender oil can also be used to treat eczema when added with chamomile.

Young Living essential oils and products are available for purchase at Seasons – The Spa. As with many other essential oils, if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult with a healthcare professional prior to use. Keep away from eyes and out of reach of children.

We use only the best, therapeutic-grade essential oils at Seasons – The Spa and Seasons Wellness Clinic. If you would like more information on essential oils, please call us at (318)255-3223.

Here are a few additional articles about essential oils.

• Be Confident, Be Happy, Believe!
• Bethany Cox To Highlight Essential Oils In A Series Of Blog Posts
• Featured Essential Oil: Orange
• American Spa Magazine Features Aromatic Facial
• Healthy Living Tips: A Recipe For All-Natural Bug Spray!

Budgeting, saving, and investing are essential pieces to our financial puzzle, but could you be missing out on important programs designed to help you save and be healthier? Employer-provided benefits such as the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) are a prime example of expense-saving programs that often go unused. Flexible Spending Accounts are one of the most valuable benefits provided in the workplace for medical and dependent care expenses. Because we understand the benefit of a healthy lifestyle and the burden of high medical costs, we want to answer some common questions about the FSA.

What is a Flexible Spending Account (FSA)?

A Flexible Spending Account is a tax-advantaged account, set up through your employer, that allows you to set aside a certain amount of your earnings to pay for qualified expenses. Contributions you make to your FSA are deducted from your check before taxes are calculated. The purpose of the FSA is to help cover out-of-pocket medical, dental, and vision expenses such as health insurance co-pays, uninsured treatments, or even over-the-counter drug purchases.

How does a Flexible Spending Account work?

At the beginning of the plan year (usually January 1st), your employer will ask how much you want to contribute for the year. Each month, the amount of money that you have pre-determined will be deducted from your paycheck and put into an account for your use during that same year. There is a limit of how much can be deposited into an FSA account, so check with your employer on the limit.

You can access the funds in your FSA account two ways:

• You may pay out-of-pocket then submit a copy of the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) or the provider’s invoice and proof of payment to the plan administrator. A reimbursement check will be issued to you as long as the expenses are approved.
• Some employers offer an FSA debit card that can be used at the point of purchase. Please note that unlike other debit cards, FSA debit cards are not accepted at every merchant that accepts Visa or MasterCard. The merchant must be coded as an approved business. Ex: You visit a spa to make an approved purchase for prescription cream for Rosacea but the FSA debit card doesn’t process. Even though it’s an approved purchase, the card doesn’t recognize the business as a medical facility. In the case that your card is declined at the point of purchase, you must pay out-of-pocket and submit the appropriate paperwork for reimbursement as described previously.

What are the benefits of a Flexible Spending Account?

An FSA saves you money by reducing your income taxes and your out-of-pocket medical expenses. The contributions you make to a Flexible Spending Account are deducted from your pay before your Federal, State, or Social Security Taxes are calculated and are never reported to the IRS. You decrease your taxable income and increase your spendable income. A Flexible Spending Account, when utilized to its fullest potential, can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year.

You may be able to pay for lab fees using your Flexible Spending Account.

What expenses are eligible for reimbursement?

Any expense that is considered a deductible medical expense by the IRS and is not reimbursed through your insurance can be reimbursed through the Flexible Spending Account. Here are a few examples:

• Laboratory fees
• Acupuncture treatments
• Fees in excess of amounts allowed by your insurance
• Birth Control Pills
• Co-payments on covered expenses
• Deductibles
• Meals, transportation and lodging
• Nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbal supplements, etc. can only be included if they are recommended by a medical practitioner as treatment for a specific medical condition diagnosed by a physician, according to the IRS website.

A complete list of eligible medical expenses and explanations can be found on the IRS website.

What is the difference between a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and a Health Savings Account (HSA)?

The most important commonality between the two accounts is that you are allowed to set aside the money before you pay income taxes on it. The FSA is a spending account, which indicates that you are expected to spend the money that you have set aside within that year. The HSA is a savings account, meaning, you may save that money until you need it, even if you don’t need it until many years later.

Bethany Cox, LMT & Certified Facial Reflexologist

At Seasons Wellness Clinic and Seasons – The Spa, we use essential oils on a daily basis. I am often asked what essential oils are and why we use them. In short, essential oils are the natural, aromatic liquids found in shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and seeds. In order to provide the most benefit to the body, Seasons only uses 100% pure therapeutic grade Young Living oils. And because we believe that essential oils should play a role in everyday life, we offer these oils for purchase to our clients.

In my massage practice at Seasons – The Spa, I use Young Living essential oils and lotions every day. These essential oils have many therapeutic benefits such as helping to calm and soothe muscle tension with blends of peppermint, coconut oil, lemongrass, oregano and sweet almond oil. I have had advanced training in Young Living essential oils and techniques using the oils and would be happy to answer any questions you may have by leaving a comment on this post.

Young Living Essential Oils are available at Seasons.

In the next few months, I will be writing a series of blog posts to highlight different essential oils and their benefits. My first blog post will highlight orange. Orange, as a pure essential oil, not only relaxes the mind with its sweet citrus scent, but it is also great for the immune system. To read more about this essential oils and to find out how you can receive a FREE orange Young Living essential oil, click here.

Everywhere you look, smartphones have become more than just a communication device.

They are an accessory we can’t live without. At Seasons, utilizing the latest technology is a commitment, both for your health and wellness as well as your convenience.

One fun way we’re utilizing technology for your convenience is with the use of QR Codes. Notice below a barcode arranged in a square pattern. Each QR code is embedded with data that will take your smartphone on a journey! A QR code might contain a coupon. It could contain information about products. Or it might even link to a website. QR codes are a quick and easy source of information for consumers.

So how do you read a QR code? Depending on the type of smartphone you have, you’ll need to download a free app called a code reader. We’ve tried RedLaser and QRReader, but there are many that work well. Once you’ve downloaded a code reading app, just scan the QR code using your camera and watch the magic happen! Who knew technology could be so much fun?

Historically, relying on a consensus statement to treat or not to treat a particular patient has been shown to result in poor care and, as such, society consensus statements and practice guidelines are considered to be worst level of evidence in support of a particular therapy or treatment. A number of organizations, including the World Health Organization and others, have ranked the strength and accuracy of various types of evidence used in the medical decision process. In all scoring systems, the highest strength of evidence is randomized control trials and meta-analyses, with lower scores for other types of evidence. All grading systems place consensus statements and expert opinion by respected authorities (societies) as the poorest level of evidence, because historically they have failed to adopt new concepts and treatments based on new knowledge or new-found understanding demonstrated in the medical literature (1-6).

For instance, a recent study published in the 2009 Journal of the American Medical Association studied the evidence supporting the practice guidelines and consensus statements published by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. It was found that only 11% of the recommendations, practice guidelines and consensus statements were based on quality evidence and over half were based on poor quality evidence that was little more than the panel’s opinion. The review also found that even the strongest (Class 1) recommendations, which are considered medical dogma, cited as a legal standards and often go unquestioned as medical fact, were only supported by high quality evidence 19% of the time and not revised based on new evidence (6).

Similarly, the Endocrine Society, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American Thyroid Association also have a long history of guidelines and recommendations that are not supported by the medical literature and fail to adjust or abandon recommendations when new understanding and knowledge contradicts their recommendations. A case in point is the recommendation by these societies that a normal TSH adequately rules out thyroid dysfunction, despite massive amounts of literature that demonstrate this not to be the case (see Diagnosis of Hypothyroidism) or that T4 only replacement is adequate for most patients. A doctor who simply follows outdated society treatment guidelines that relies on a simple laboratory test and ignores the clinical aspects of a patient is not practicing evidence-based medicine. (1-7). Such doctors may be adequate as lab technicians, but as doctors and clinicians they fall short (1-7). This method of practice is consistently rebuked as improper and poor medicine, but has become the standard used by a large percentage of endocrinologists and physicians who feel medicine can be related to simply reading “normal” or “abnormal” in a laboratory column.

Discussing the lack of scientific basis of most medical society’s consensus statements and treatment guidelines in Internal Medicine News, Dr. Diana Petritti states, “Expert opinion and consensus statements can be quite misleading when used as the basis for a practice. Expert opinions imply that there is something that the experts know that clinician doesn’t know. I don’t think it’s always appreciated that it’s only opinion. There is a tendency to make guidelines and recommendations seem authoritative. I believe that physicians think that there is a great deal more behind authoritative recommendations than there might be when you lift the lid of the box and see what’s underneath(8).”

There has been significant concern by health care organizations and medical experts that physicians are placing too much reliance on consensus statements and failing to learn of new information presented in medical journals. Thus, they lack the ability to translate this new information into treatments for their patients. The concern is that doctors fail to practice evidence-based medicine, erroneously relying on what they have previously been taught and on “expert” societies instead of changing treatment philosophies based on new information as it becomes available. This is especially true for endocrinological conditions, where physicians are very resistant to changing old concepts of diagnosis and treatment — despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary — because it is not what they were taught in medical school and endocrinology residency.

This concern is particularly clear in an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled “Clinical Research to Clinical Practice: Lost in Translation” (9). The article was written by Claude Lenfant, M.D., Director of National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and it is well supported. He states that there is great concern that doctors continue to rely on what they learned 20 years before and are uninformed about scientific findings. According to Dr. Lenfant, medical researchers, along with public officials and political leaders, are increasingly concerned about physicians’ inability to translate research findings in their medical practice to benefit their patients. He says that very few physicians learn about new discoveries from reading medical journals or by attending scientific conferences; thus, they lack the ability to translate new knowledge in the field into enhanced treatments for their patients. He states that a review of past medical discoveries reveals how excruciatingly slow the medical establishment is to adopt novel concepts, noting that even simple methods to improve medical quality are often met with fierce resistance. “Given the ever-growing sophistication of our scientific knowledge and the additional new discoveries that are likely in the future, many of us harbor an uneasy, but quite realistic suspicion that this gap between what we know about disease and what we do to prevent and treat them will become even wider. And it is not just recent research results that are not finding their way into clinical practice; there is plenty of evidence that ‘old’ research outcome have been lost in translation as well (1).”

Dr. Lenfant discusses the fact that the proper practice of medicine involves the combination of medical knowledge, intuition and judgment and that physicians’ knowledge is lacking because they don’t keep up with the medical literature. He states that there is often a difference of opinion among physicians and reviewing entities, but that judgment and knowledge of the research pertaining to the patient’s condition is central to the responsible practice of medicine. “Enormous amounts of new knowledge are barreling down the information highway, but they are not arriving at the doorsteps of our patients. (9).”

These thoughts are echoed by physicians who have researched this issue as well, such as William Shankle, M.D., Professor, University of California, Irvine. He states, “Most doctors are practicing 10 to 20 years behind the available medical literature and continue to practice what they learned in medical school….There is a breakdown in the transfer of information from the research to the overwhelming majority of practicing physicians. Doctors do not seek to implement new treatments that are supported in the literature or change treatments that are not (10).”

This view is echoed by the Dean of Stanford University School of Medicine who states that in the absence of translational medicine the delivery of medical care would remain stagnant and uninformed by the tremendous progress taking place in science and medicine (11).

This concern has also received significant publicity in the mainstream media. An example is an article by Sidney Smith, M.D., former president of the American Heart Association, published in 2003 in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Too Many Patients Never Reap the Benefits of Great Research.” Dr. Smith is very critical of physicians for not seeking out available information and applying that information to their patients, arguing that doctors feel the best medicine is what they’ve been doing and thinking for years. They discount new research, Dr. Smith says, because it is not what they have been taught or practiced, and they refuse to admit that what they have been doing or thinking for many years is not the best medicine. He states, “A large part of the problem is the real resistance of physicians…; many of these independent-minded souls don’t like being told that science knows best, and the way they’ve always done things is second-rate (12).” The National Center for Policy Analysis also expresses concern for the lack of ability of physicians to translate medical therapies into practice (13).

A review published in The Annals of Internal Medicine found that there is clearly a problem of physicians not seeking to advance their knowledge by reviewing the current literature, believing proper care is what they learned in medical school or residency and not basing their treatments on the most current research. The review found that the longer a physician is in practice, the more inappropriate and substandard the care (14). Thus, it is not a surprise that the scientific evidence as expressed in the literature is often opposite to what is continually repeated as dogma by most physicians and those considered to be “experts.”

Another example is a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (15). In reviewing the study, the National Institute of Medicine reports that there is an unacceptable lag between the discovery of new treatment modalities and their acceptance into routine care: “The lag between the discovery of more effective forms of treatment and their incorporation into routine patient care averages 17 years.” (16) In response to this unacceptable lag, the Business and Professions Code passed an amendment relating to the healing arts. This amendment — CA Assembly Bill 592; An Act to Amend Section 2234.1 of the Business and Professions Code — states: Since the National Institute of Medicine has reported that it can take up to 17 years for a new best practice to reach the average physician and surgeon, it is prudent to give attention to new developments not only in general medical care but in the actual treatment of specific diseases, particularly those that are not yet broadly recognized [such as the concept of tissue hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia] (17).

The Principals of Medical Ethics adopted by the American Medical Association in 1980 states that a physician shall continue to study, apply, and advance scientific knowledge, make relevant information available to patients, colleagues, and the public (18). This has, unfortunately, been replaced with a goal of providing merely “adequate” care. The current insurance reimbursement system in the United States fosters this thinking, as the worst physicians are financially rewarded by insurance companies. While it is true that the best physicians are continually fighting to provide cutting edge treatments and superior care that the insurance companies deem not medically necessary, even these physicians eventually get worn down and are forced to capitulate to the current system that promotes substandard care.

This was clearly demonstrated in a study published in the March 2006 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine entitled “Who is at Greater Risk for Receiving Poor-Quality Health Care.” The study found that the majority of individuals received substandard, poor-quality care, and that there was no significant difference among different income levels or whether or not the individual was covered by insurance. It used to be the case that only those in low socioeconomic classes without insurance received poor-quality care. But insurance company restrictions on treatments and diagnostic procedures have made the same poor care afforded to those of low socioeconomic status the new standard-of-care for society at large (19). An example of this is a physician’s failing to spend the time to adequately assess a potential hypothyroid patient and instead simply does a TSH test.

Most physicians will satisfy their required amount of continuing medical education (CME) by going to a conference a year, usually at a highly desirable location that has skiing, golf, boating, etc. Physicians are rarely monitored as to whether or not they actually showed up for the lectures or went skiing instead. One must also understand that the majority of conferences organized by medical societies are in fact sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. These payments by pharmaceutical companies are called unrestricted grants, so that the society has free reign to do what they want with the money and thus can claim there is no influence of lecture content by the companies. The problem, however, is that if the society wants to continue getting these “unrestricted” grants, they must think twice about providing content that the sponsoring pharmaceutical company might disapprove of. Consequently, ground breaking research that goes against the status quo and does not support the drug industry receives little attention.

Evidence-based medicine involves the synthesis of all available data when comparing therapeutic options for patients. Evidence-based medicine does not mean that data should be ignored until a randomized control trial of a particular size and duration is completed. A physician who tries to avoid the need of being a physician and is fine with just being a technician or health care provider will adamantly defend the “one-size fits all” method of diagnosis and treatment. But the best doctors who truly practice evidence-based medicine and not merely the perception of such will not rely on consensus statements to best provide their patients. Instead of relying on old dogma, the best physicians will seek out and translate both basic science results and clinical outcomes to decide on the safest, most efficacious treatment for their patients. Further, the best physicians will continually assess the current available data to decide which therapies are likely to carry the greatest benefits for patients and involve the lowest risks.

References