At The Crossroads of Holistic and Traditional Treatment for HIV Patients

The idea of holistic care has two meanings, Anthony Mills, MD, SoCal Men's Medical Group, explained at CROI 2017. It can refer to alternative types of care or treatment covering the whole patient and providing "full service relief". Since working in HIV in the mid-80s, Mills has aimed to focus his work on the latter, particularly because they didn't have any therapies to offer at the time. To provide care, he and his group did acupuncture, healing, yoga, and things that were building the spiritual strengths of the patient. They were very effective therapies, and while Mills appreciates the traditional approach for providing medications, he understands the importance of studying all the parts of a person that gives him strength and energy.