As winter edges closer and flu season makes its rounds, one Australian doctor is urging a rethink of how we approach health—not in opposition to medicine, but alongside it. Dr Hira Singh, a seasoned general practitioner and advocate of integrative care, believes it’s time doctors stepped beyond prescriptions and embraced their role as health educators.
“My hope is that more health practitioners will consider and embrace the wider responsibilities of their role as teachers of health to their patients,” he says, “rather than be reduced to the soul-destroying practice of disease management with pharmaceuticals alone.”
This perspective is at the heart of Dr Singh’s latest book, Healing the Whole Person, published by Hill of Content. It’s not a rejection of medicine, but a recalibration of its role—placing lifestyle choices, mental resilience, and prevention on equal footing with clinical treatment. Drawing from 45 years in Australian general practice, Dr Singh presents what he calls a “whole person model” of care—an approach rooted in the belief that health is shaped as much by daily life as it is by diagnosis.
In practice, that means looking at diet, movement, relationships, stress levels, and even one’s sense of purpose. “Doctors often see patients ‘presenting’ with evolving illnesses which do not fit into a well-defined diagnostic category as described in medical textbooks,” he says. “The complexity of illness demands that we expand the scope of our attention in this way if we are to be effective doctors.”
It’s not a fringe view. As patients become more informed—and more vocal—Dr Singh says there’s a growing appetite for a broader conversation in the consultation room. “More patients are expecting their doctor to engage with them on their health journey. They request explanations, question their prescriptions, and are no longer content to be passive recipients of a paternalistic medical culture.”
He sees this shift not as a threat, but as an opportunity. “Science has confirmed that Western medicine is not the only available path to better healthcare,” he says. “We need to bring together the best insights from different systems of health, rather than holding onto rigid silos.”
The book presents practical strategies for embedding small but meaningful changes into daily life—from how we eat to how we think. It’s a guide less concerned with fads and fast results, and more focused on long-term change.
Professor Avni Sali, founder of the National Institute of Integrative Medicine, describes the work as a “road map” for everyday Australians looking to improve their wellbeing without abandoning conventional care. “Healing the Whole Person offers us simple, effective ways we can all follow to improve our lifestyle for health optimisation and personal growth.”
Dr Singh doesn’t position himself as an alternative health guru, and there’s little interest in gimmicks. His critique is squarely aimed at the tendency in modern health systems to chase symptoms without asking harder questions about why we get sick in the first place—and what keeps us well.
His message may be timely. The rising burden of chronic conditions—from diabetes to anxiety—has made prevention a policy buzzword, but implementation is still often reactive. Dr Singh argues that prevention must start with how doctors are trained and how patients are seen. “The answer to long term wellness lies in the way we live every single day,” he says.
For Dr Singh, the goal is not perfection, but progress. His model encourages personal agency, small wins, and respectful dialogue between doctor and patient. In the end, it’s a vision of healthcare that values partnership—where medication, movement, and meaning all have a seat at the table.
Dr Hira Singh migrated to Australia from Singapore in 1977, and has since become a prominent voice in integrative medicine both nationally and internationally. He has served on the founding board of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association and is the former President of the Whole Health Institute (Australia). His lectures on whole person care continue to shape practice among a growing number of Australian clinicians.
Healing the Whole Person is available now through Hill of Content Publishing.
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🩺 Dr Hira Singh champions integrative healthcare in new book "Healing the Whole Person". 🌿 Blends medicine with lifestyle, diet & mental wellness. 💡 Urges doctors to educate, not just prescribe. 📖 A roadmap for holistic, preventive care. #TheIndianSunhttps://t.co/D1VE4fYBBA
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