The BridgeIT Movement

A Look Back at The Integrity Project:

In 2009, I developed a program that would make it easier for people to stay healthy, promote holistic providers, provide community education on the benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine while gathering research on the effectiveness of Integrative Medicine. Along with all of those benefits, it would raise money for local, state, and federal legislative policy advocacy and fund the Integrative Medicine Movement! 

My team worked for free for four years, trying to raise the capital and awareness of the benefits of integrative medicine. I will continue to look for a business partner/ corporation to bring this health care solution to life. If you would like to read more about my Journey to Integrity, check out my Blog.

Executive Summary of The Integrity Project (Now known as The BridgeIT Movement):

In 2014 the Affordable Health Care Act went into effect, and it forced the citizens of the United States to become aware of their benefits and/or change their health care coverage. This awareness has created an opportunity for a change in the approach to healthcare. According to the National Institute of Health, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine's (NCCAM) report in 2007, 38% of adults and 12% of children used Complementary and Alternative Medicine or CAM. This report shows that, even in 2007, individuals seek CAM supplements and treatments above and beyond insurance coverage. NCCAM has a 2012 report pending. We can speculate that that percentage has increased as more people become aware of CAM methods and the downfalls of traditional medical treatments and medications. "CAM is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine, and alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. Integrative medicine combines conventional and CAM treatments for which there is evidence of safety and effectiveness." http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camstats/2007

Some of the barriers to obtaining these CAM treatments are related to the affordability to the individual, since many methods are not covered by insurance; and the lack of information about the holistic methods and/ or how to find holistic providers. The Holistic Providers' barriers are the lack of revenue or privately paying clients and the ability to do significant advertising. These Holistic Professionals usually have a Professional Organization who is interested in gathering research on the holistic techniques offered and representing the profession in order to do legislative and policy advocacy. These organizations have difficulty raising capital from their memberships in order to achieve the momentum necessary for their legislative and policy goals.

Integrity: MyHolisticApproach.com is designed to integrate the three target markets; the individuals using CAM methods, the Holistic Providers, and the Holistic Organizations by using an interactive holistic directory and a discount membership program that will collect research on what CAM methods are being used by individuals while saving money and increasing referrals and advertising for the Holistic Providers. The research and profits would be used for legislative and policy advocacy.

The Research Study:

I began conducting a clinical study to show insurance companies how study participants keep their mind, body, spirit, and community health. The purpose was to prove that Integrative Medicine or Complementary and Alternative Medicine methods are effective, so we can build on that to raise money for Integrity to be born. This project was privately funded by myself, and the cost was around $5,000.

How Participants Helped With Our Research:

• A group of 25 diverse people practicing a variety of Wellness or Holistic methods, such as yoga, eating organic foods, massage therapy, chiropractic, etc. were studied.
• This study also focused on how the participants use traditional health care to monitor their wellness practices.
• You can review the Consent for the Clinical Study here.
• For those who stay healthy along with traditional health care is, I created a Consent for the Clinical Study, which can be viewed here.

How Participants Were Selected:

• Interested participants signed up for the Integrity Project by filling out their information on our website's submission form.
• Those who signed up received a link to complete a wellness survey at the beginning of the study and another one year later after completion. Participants had free access to the results of your survey, valued at $60. More information about the Health Survey (Health Risk Assessment or HRA) can be viewed at HRA Patient Handout. *Please note that the Health Risk Assessment does not diagnose disease or illness, nor does it replace medical advice from your doctors. Please review the disclaimer regarding the Health Survey also by visiting terms of use patient.
• Each month participants were sent a brief survey to complete, which asked questions about their current wellness practices each month. This is important because this is the data that the insurance company cannot collect…they can only see when people have been to the doctor or hospital.
  • Here is the Clinical Survey Link sample: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3BB75TK
• All answers have been anonymously published in the findings, and participants received a copy.