Medical pluralism is the adoption of more than one medical system for holistic
management of health and wellbeing. Health being a multidimensional phenomenon
determined by biological, environmental, cultural, sociological and psychological aspects, it
is important to understand that an individual’s overall health and wellness is the result of
harmonious synchronization of all these determinants. Healthcare strategies rooted in single
medical tradition/philosophy may not be sufficient to address these diverse determinants of
health and optimize them. This is where medical pluralism, wherein integration of medical
traditions derived from different epistemology and distinct worldviews, become important
and imperative. Creating a futuristic platform that allows the coexistence of diverse medical
traditions and developing an effective interface between them is the need of the hour.
Recognizing and logically bridging epistemologically and culturally different perspectives of
health and disease management would have significant contribution in the contemporary
healthcare sector, particularly in the management of chronic lifestyle diseases. However it is a
challenging task at different levels.