Bringing Health Care to the Masses
Feb 29, 2024 09:31AM ● By Martin Miron
Babar Qadri, "Q" in the Urban Garden
Babar A. “Q” Qadri, owner of Integrative Medicine & Hijama Clinic, started as a personal trainer at Bally Total Fitness, then graduated from New York Mercy College as a physician’s assistant (PA) in 2010. Before that, he working at the HUDA free health clinic in downtown Detroit and after graduation, worked there as a provider.
Many patients there were uninsured or underinsured. “I wanted to get involved more with their physiology and why they were feeling these pains or where they were getting this fatigue and weight gain from. It made me want to get more in-depth into medicine,” Qadri states. “So I combined my knowledge of exercise, fitness and medicine and started doing primary care.”
Defining the Problem
When Qadri started seeing patients, he had one that was taking seven different blood pressure medications and her blood pressure was still high. “I said, Mrs. Jones, what are you doing about your blood pressure?”
Her answer was, “I am just doing what you guys told me. The medicine you gave me is what I am taking.”
That was an epiphany for Qadri, because his training never ventured into this arena. Students were told to prescribe medication, suggest some lifestyle tips and leave it at that. He thought, “If that is the answer we are giving, then we have failed in our jobs as providers. I started studying naturopathic and holistic medicine under a hakim, which is a doctor from the days before pharmaceuticals took over. I started implementing that with my patients, and it got me to where I am today.”
The Urban Garden
HUDA built an urban garden in an empty lot next to the clinic to grow foods that could treat patients’ diseases. Qadri advises, “It is very therapeutic psychologically to be in this serene area with this natural growth. It really allows you to dig your toes into the ground and get the vibe back of Mother Nature. So now when a patient comes in and their blood pressure is high, I say, ‘Well, what are you doing about it?’ And I tell them, ‘This is the food you need to eat. This is what you need to do to try to get off the medication and make food your medicine. Let us go over there and grab all these foods for you so that you can start getting off the pharmaceuticals and getting on the natural stuff.’ So from there, it evolved and I have evolved to where I practice integrative medicine.”
Lifestyle Modification
“Western medicine is great when it comes to acute care, but when it comes to chronic care, it falls very short,” Qadri explains. “A lot of patients say they have seen doctors repeatedly and they feel like they are just getting a Band-Aid on their issue. What they enjoy about us is the fact that we incorporate different lifestyles and implement a better eating plan. We focus on using food and things that they can enjoy doing and taking to be their medicine because an educated patient is a healthy patient. I am going to find out how you went from a healthy state to an unhealthy state. What were the steps that took you there and how can we reverse it? Those conversations take time.”
Hijama Cupping Therapy
“We do a lot of alternative medicine, and a lot of patients will just come in for the Hijama cupping. This has been around for thousands of years, and we’re just introducing it into the curriculum now. Medical students love it so much that they want to do a stint with me so they can learn it, then they can practice on their own as soon as they graduate,” says Qadri.
Integrative Medicine & Hijama Clinic is located at 8528 N. Canton Center Rd., in Canton. For appointments and more information, call 734-414-9944, email [email protected] or visit IntegrativeMedClinic.org.
Many patients there were uninsured or underinsured. “I wanted to get involved more with their physiology and why they were feeling these pains or where they were getting this fatigue and weight gain from. It made me want to get more in-depth into medicine,” Qadri states. “So I combined my knowledge of exercise, fitness and medicine and started doing primary care.”
Defining the Problem
When Qadri started seeing patients, he had one that was taking seven different blood pressure medications and her blood pressure was still high. “I said, Mrs. Jones, what are you doing about your blood pressure?”
Her answer was, “I am just doing what you guys told me. The medicine you gave me is what I am taking.”
That was an epiphany for Qadri, because his training never ventured into this arena. Students were told to prescribe medication, suggest some lifestyle tips and leave it at that. He thought, “If that is the answer we are giving, then we have failed in our jobs as providers. I started studying naturopathic and holistic medicine under a hakim, which is a doctor from the days before pharmaceuticals took over. I started implementing that with my patients, and it got me to where I am today.”
The Urban Garden
HUDA built an urban garden in an empty lot next to the clinic to grow foods that could treat patients’ diseases. Qadri advises, “It is very therapeutic psychologically to be in this serene area with this natural growth. It really allows you to dig your toes into the ground and get the vibe back of Mother Nature. So now when a patient comes in and their blood pressure is high, I say, ‘Well, what are you doing about it?’ And I tell them, ‘This is the food you need to eat. This is what you need to do to try to get off the medication and make food your medicine. Let us go over there and grab all these foods for you so that you can start getting off the pharmaceuticals and getting on the natural stuff.’ So from there, it evolved and I have evolved to where I practice integrative medicine.”
Lifestyle Modification
“Western medicine is great when it comes to acute care, but when it comes to chronic care, it falls very short,” Qadri explains. “A lot of patients say they have seen doctors repeatedly and they feel like they are just getting a Band-Aid on their issue. What they enjoy about us is the fact that we incorporate different lifestyles and implement a better eating plan. We focus on using food and things that they can enjoy doing and taking to be their medicine because an educated patient is a healthy patient. I am going to find out how you went from a healthy state to an unhealthy state. What were the steps that took you there and how can we reverse it? Those conversations take time.”
A Different Kind of Insurance
Integrative Medicine & Hijama Clinic uses direct primary care insurance in addition to the major carriers. Patients pay a monthly subscription to get access to the clinic and can use it as many times as they need that month. Upon their first visit, all the blood work and testing is done in-house.
Hijama Cupping Therapy
“We do a lot of alternative medicine, and a lot of patients will just come in for the Hijama cupping. This has been around for thousands of years, and we’re just introducing it into the curriculum now. Medical students love it so much that they want to do a stint with me so they can learn it, then they can practice on their own as soon as they graduate,” says Qadri.
He avows, “I will never, ever turn a patient down if they do not have insurance or they cannot afford it. I am not going to have money as a constraint for me to enjoy what I do. People are not going to doctors because they are scared; they do not want to go bankrupt. I am a little fish in a big pond, but I am trying to do my part.”
Integrative Medicine & Hijama Clinic is located at 8528 N. Canton Center Rd., in Canton. For appointments and more information, call 734-414-9944, email [email protected] or visit IntegrativeMedClinic.org.
