Whole Health and Functional Medicine in 2023 and Beyond

Whole health and the whole health approach received a lot of attention in 2023. The move toward a cultural transformation in care delivery to include prevention and treatment and conventional and complementary approaches that embeds each patient in a “circle of health” was noted by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine as a potential model for higher-value care nationally. Prioritizing a person-centered, integrated approach to health care that focuses on health creation and well-being by incorporating patients’ goals into their health care changes the focus from “what’s the matter with you?” to “what matters to you?” If that sounds a lot like functional medicine, it should; these two models of care are aligned in many ways. Today, we welcome IFM CEO Amy R. Mack, along with IFM Directors of Medical Education Doctors Robert Luby and Dan Lukaczer for a conversation through the lens of whole health, with a look back on the important themes that emerged in 2023 and a look ahead to what is to come for the whole health approach and functional medicine.