Message from the Medical Director

Richard L. Faiola, MD, ABFM

By becoming a patient of David Overton, PA-C in Natural Medicine and Family Practice, you have chosen to share in the exploration of what is commonly labeled "alternative" or "complementary" medicine. That seems to set up an artificial division from "conventional" medicine. Truthfully, there is only one kind of useful medicine; that which benefits the patient.

 

Some diagnostic and some therapeutic methods are widely practiced and might be labeled "orthodox." Some are well understood and thus might be labeled "scientific" or "evidence based." Surprisingly, much that is orthodox is not yet evidence based. Conversely, it takes time for new therapeutic methods to become orthodox. Physicians used aspirin for over a century before they understood how it worked. More recently, it took about 10 years of persistent struggle for one researcher to gain widespread acceptance for his findings that most gastric ulcers are caused by infection.

 

Some of the most exciting work in medicine is in areas not yet "orthodox" and in some cases, reliant on only the most minimal of scientific evidence. This is the area in which Mr. Overton has chosen to become expert. Some of his methods are unorthodox, with varying degrees of reliable science behind them. Some techniques will prove highly effective and, in time, will eventually be discarded - even by Mr. Overton. This willingness to reject or discard the useless is a hallmark of the honest practitioner. I am impressed with Mr. Overton's strong commitment to continued learning in his field and to the rigorous scientific approach he takes to an area whose practitioners are sometimes poorly informed or distrustful of scientific investigation.

 

Mr. Overton has excellent training and more than 20 years experience as a Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant. He is licensed by the state of Washington as a Board Certified Physician Assistant, which requires that he be supervised by a MD or DO. My role as Medical Director is to by the regular review of a representative sample of his medical records that he is meeting the standards of a legitimate medical practice; that his methods do not unnecessarily endanger his patients; and that professional ethics are observed. Should any patient ever believe that those standards have been violated, I wish to hear of it. Though certain insurance companies require the practice to bill under my name, I do not assume responsibility for individual patients. David Overton is not my employee. He owns his own business, sets his own fees and takes his own calls.

 

Patients of Mr. Overton without their own physician are welcome in my office (Heritage Family Medicine, 3333 Harrison Ave. NW, Olympia - 360.704.2362 - www.heritagefamilymedicine.com) - but only if seen in that setting will we assume an individual patient-physician relationship.

 

My own training is as a board certified specialist in Family Medicine. My MD is from Loma Linda University; my specialty training was in Chicago and Boston. After 21 years in Chehalis, WA, my wife and I traveled for four years, working as a "rent-a-doc" or volunteering where needed, before retuning to open our new office on Olympia's west side. I am a fully "orthodox" allopathic physician, but I have always had an interest in "alternative" ideas. I host in my office an excellent acupuncturist. I once tried to recruit David Overton to join a Complementary Alternative Medical Center I sought to found in Chehalis (before John Hopkins, Harvard or Scripts had theirs!). Now, I am truly excited to join him in his own practice.

 

Seeking the safest, most natural approach to maintaining full health is good medicine. It is not "alternative" - it is what all practitioners should be doing. It is also the heritage of my training. While Loma Linda University is today a world leader in advanced technologies, it began almost 100 years ago as a religious institution whose motto remains "To Make Man Whole" and whose founder one wrote:

 

The Lord has given some simple herbs of the field that at times are beneficial; and if every family were educated in how to use these herbs in case of sickness, much suffering might be prevented and no doctor need be called. These old-fashioned, simple herbs, used intelligently, would have recovered many sick who have died under drug medication. (EGW Feb. 10, 1897)

 

It is a privilege to join David Overton, PA-C, in the exploration and enhancement of that tradition.

 

 

Natural Medicine & Family Practice

1315 Ruddell Road NE, Lacey WA  -  360.357.8054