The New Medicine reveals that medical education is changing. The show takes us to Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, one of a growing number of medical schools where there’s renewed emphasis on teaching some of the skills of pre-modern medicine: the importance of listening, comforting and encouraging the body’s own healing abilities. The traditional doctor-patient relationship is undergoing a shift from paternalism to partnership, as practitioners and consumers have begun to promote a more holistic form of healthcare called integrative medicine, which seeks to heal the whole person, rather than simply cure a disease.

“We as a healthcare system have kind of lost our way a little bit over the last two decades by becoming so enamored of technology and specialization that we’ve lost sight of the individual as an individual, a very complex entity,” says Dr. Ralph Snyderman, chairman emeritus of Duke University. “We ought to understand that we are engaged in healing, and healing involves caring. And caring is at the root of the practice of medicine and at the root of the physician-patient relationship.”

“Some people might feel like, ‘Well, this is kind of the touchy-feely, soft side of medicine. Why pay attention when you know what’s important in getting the x-ray and giving the antibiotic?’ ” adds Dr. Arthur Kleinman of Harvard. But this attitude is dangerously shortsighted in his view. If you’re a doctor who fails to take the time to understand an individual’s personality, history, habits and fears, “you’re practicing veterinary medicine,” he says.

Be sure to check out The New Medicine: Companion Book to the Public Television Series, with a forward by Dana Reeve. It includes in-depth interviews with physicians and research scientists featured in the program, as well as tips on how to choose the best doctor and how to get the most out of your visit.

Dana Reeve

One of the last projects Dana Reeve undertook before she died Monday of lung cancer was to host the PBS special The New Medicine, scheduled to premiere 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 29 (check local listings).

The two-hour documentary will be of special interest to those dedicated to organic living, focusing on a burgeoning movement in U.S. hospitals and clinics to integrate high-tech and holistic medicine. The program suggests medical practice in America may be on the brink of a transformation: As scientific findings reveal the mind plays a critical role in the body’s capacity to heal, the medical community is beginning to embrace a new range of treatment options, including many once considered fringe.

The New Medicine goes inside medical schools, healthcare clinics, research institutions and private practices to show physicians at work on the cutting edge of this new approach. By paying attention to a person’s cultural values, lifestyle, stresses and supports, these doctors acknowledge the important role that patients can—and should—play in their own healing and healthcare. The program introduces viewers to patients who are benefiting from relaxation therapy, visualization tapes and self-hypnosis.