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Sachin H. Jain: How Natural health ideologies improve health outcomes

Sachin H. Jain/kelloggbhc.com

Nov 26, 2024, 18:33

Sachin H. Jain: How Natural health ideologies improve health outcomes

Sachin H. Jain, President and CEO of SCAN Group and Health Plan, shared on LinkedIn:

“Natural health ideologies may improve health outcomes, with the following cautionary notes:

Natural does not always equal safe: there is a pernicious tendency to equate natural with safe. Not always the case. Arsenic is natural and part of a number of homeopathic medicines—but isn’t safe when taken in high quantities. Alcohol is natural, but it is a known neurotoxin.

Confusing disease progression with side effects: when people get worse while taking medicines, they often blame the medicines rather than the progression of the underlying disease. This leads to an ‘anti-medicine’ sentiment that is unfounded and against which we must guard.

Natural does not obviate the need for evidence: there’s frequently a tendency to promote natural cures and remedies even when there is no supporting underlying evidence. We should demand similar evidence standards for all therapies—natural or otherwise. Correlation is not the same thing as causation.

Believe the data, not the ideologue: there is a tendency to follow influencers who often speak to our ongoing biases. It’s important to follow data, not ideologies, no matter how compelling the message or messenger.”

Sachin H. Jain is the President and CEO of SCAN Group and Health Plan and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He also serves as a Board Member at The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, an Academic Hospitalist (WOC) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and a Board Member at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). He is also a board member of Omada Health.