In today’s quick-fix society where pharmaceutical companies jump to design pills which rectify problems you didn’t even know you had, a local sect of doctors is taking a different approach to medicine.

The Program in Integrative Medicine (PIM) at the University of Arizona, 1249 N. Mountain Ave., was founded by Dr. Andrew Weil in 1994. The two-year fellowship program teaches physicians how to incorporate less typical types of medicine into their practices.

"Integrative medicine incorporates everything not taught to us in medical school," said Dr. Larry Bergstrom, a PIM graduate who practices general internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. "That could mean things like alternative and herbal medicines as well as energy medicine and Chinese medicine."

The PIM has graduated 150 physicians who use integrated medicine in their practices from Alaska to Japan. Graduates must undergo 1,000 hours of training.

The program teaches the different types of healing methods available to physicians. "Everybody who graduates from the program has to take away the parts of their education that most relate to them," said Bergstrom.

"It integrates the care of the entire person," said Bergstrom. "This includes the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of their health."

Dr. Stephen Panebianco, a PIM graduate who runs an integrative medicine and mind-body consultation clinic at 5215 N. Sabino Canyon Road, says he recognized a need for integrative medicine while doing rounds in a trauma surgery ward. "During my training in an outpatient facility I would see the limitations of medicine as we know it," he said. "Patients had been increasingly exploring different approaches of the healing arts."

According to Panebianco, despite the best efforts of health care providers, they don’t have the time or proper training to help patients understand all of their healing choices. He says he consults his patients, who often have cancer or cardiovascular disease, on the most effective treatment they can pursue.

"I give them a balanced understanding of their healing options," said Panebianco. "When someone comes to me who purely wants alternative medicine I advise them when their best interest may be pharmaceutical or surgical procedure. When someone comes to me who’s pursuing a medical and allopathic intervention I tell them what else they can do, whether it’s food, exercise, vitamins, or stress management"

According to Bergstrom, integrated medicine focuses a lot on the mental side of health. "I have patients re-address what gives their life meaning," he said. "Some people are sick but do not have an illness. Things like retirement or a stay-at-home mother’s children going away to college can all hit a person the same way."

Dr. Ann Marie Chiasson, a PIM graduate who runs a private integrative medicine practice in Tucson, says that just because integrated medicine physicians have training in alternative medicines, it’s not all they specialize in. "Integrative medicine doctors don’t just jump on an alternative treatment because it’s there," she said. "You have to be careful; I use allopathic methods as much as anything else."

"The distinguishing factor is it’s not alternative medicine," said Panebianco. "It applies all the important parts of modern medical science."

According to Bergstrom, integrative medicine can pick up where modern medicine falls short. "Conventional medical methods like physicals, blood tests, and x-rays don’t always explain the illnesses in many people," he said. "A doctor’s training often tells them that if the patient’s problem isn’t physical then it’s in their head, integrated medicine looks at the person as a whole."

One common theme in integrated medicine that all the PIM graduates will emphasize is an increased consideration of the patient-doctor bond. "It’s very much focused on the doctor-patient relationship," said Panebianco. He said the kind of person who’s facing a challenge is just as important as what kind of disease the person has.

According to Chiasson, Tucson is especially receptive to integrative medicine. "People in Tucson are more open to it than people in some other places in the country," she said. "We have a lot of older healthier people who see beneath the surface of medicine, Tucson is packed with vibrant 90-year-olds."

Currently, the PIM is accepting applications for the class of 2010 which they will begin reviewing on April 1st.

According to Chiasson, in the end, integrated medicine is just a complete approach to health. "It uses the most effective means of all the healing modalities," she said. "It relies on the wisdom of all the cultures, not just ours."