Information Medicine

About the Book

I have written a book about information and narrative in medicine. It is an extension of the work of the late Dr. George Engel, whose 1977 SCIENCE article proposed a Biopsychosocial Model for medicine that would embrace all information that was relevant in thinking about health and disease, including the sub-molecular, physiological, psychological, social and environmental. I was Dr. Engel's assistant and colleague and have full access to his papers and correspondence. Shortly before his death he wanted to shift to a new metaphor, Information Medicine, because he thought that his paper had not opened up the thinking of those in Biomedicine to the kinds of shifts that were necessary in a post-modern world of new scientific conceptualizations. Just as Public Health was the central force for change in the the last cnetury, information at all levels of society may well be the organizing principle for our new century. This book makes the connection, informs the reader of healthy ways to better use the brain to utilize that information, and makes a strong case for the value of ongoing narrative practices in our lives

About the Author

David Tinling is a mind-body physician who lives in Vermont teaching workshops on enhancing creativity. He writes poetry and fiction and makes conceptual art.