Reporters are welcome to attend the conference.
He says that without the human element of communication, patients often die in a manner that doesn't reflect the goals and values by which they lived. That's the dilemma facing Western medicine, where technological wizardry has replaced compassion and spiritual healing, he says. Among the dozens of speakers will be experts on stress management, herbal medicine, and the power of prayer and spirituality in healing. Together, they'll address more than 500 health care professionals who represent various elements of the integrative medicine movement, a diverse network of patients and care givers who believe that modern medicine falls short of true healing. The message is one that harkens back to an era when the healing of the soul was often the only comfort a doctor could provide.