The National Institute of Whole Health (NIWH) provides evidence-based, integrative whole health education for healthcare and medical professionals worldwide who desire to provide better patient care. The NIWH vision and mission is becoming a reality in mainstream medicine and health care with the inclusion of an integrative, whole person approach to disease prevention, demystified health information and shared decision making. For almost four decades, with this vision as its guiding light, NIWH has developed, for qualified health, allied health and related professionals, our whole health focused continuing education and professional development programs. Our courses are peer-reviewed, accredited, approved or endorsed by more than a dozen of the leading national health care associations. Dr. Blake Andersen, CEO and founder of the HealthSciences Institute states, “We share with the National Institute of Whole Health, a vision for rigorous standards of training and practice for health care practitioners who work in a health care environment where chronic, not acute, conditions, are the main threats to health and independence. They should be based on proficiency, evidence and outcomes. They should also carry the endorsement of the healthcare industry.”
The NIWH Whole Health professional programs were created to serve those who serve others in health care. NIWH is the pioneer of, Whole Health Education®, named by Union Hospital, a Harvard Affiliate Hospital, as a Best Practice in Relationship Centered Care model and was nominated by Union Hospital for the Fetzer Institute’s national Best Practice in Relationship Centered Care award. With over 35 years of research and development behind the model, clinical research still continues. In 2015, CMU has completed a Blue Cross/Blue Shield funded study on the NIWH model. In 2016, Michigan State University Medical Center will begin a registered clinical trial on the Whole Health Education Behavioral Engagement model, and its potential to transform the staggering problems healthcare faces due to poor communication between patients and providers. Whole Health Education with Behavioral Engagement places the patient at the center of their health care and empowers them, with a demystified understanding of health and disease, to take control over their health and longevity. Whole Health Education® with Behavioral Engagement™, is the first known patient education and health behavior change model developed, tested and utilized in clinical settings. The model encourages and supports both self-directed and shared decision making between patients, their physicians and care givers to create the best possible health outcomes. The tireless work of NIWH has been recognized as important and visionary. This work includes the developed of a Whole Person Care ™ model of training for nurses and medical providers, as well as the Behavioral Engagement ™ communication skill set. In 2005, the NIWH model became the mandate for “the practice of medicine in all settings”. Both the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO – now called the Joint Commission) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) identified these key guidelines, which include:
> placing patients at the center of their health care decision making
> treating the patient as a whole person
> evidenced-based health education for prevention and disease management
Medicaid/Medicare initiatives, include patient education, prevention of disease states and “Pay for Performance” reimbursement guidelines for medical practices.”Pay for Performance” reimbursements are based on a physician’s documentation of patient education methods and disease prevention outcomes data.
