░ TAVAD Philosophy

Let's look at a common situation that exemplifies this point. In most countries around the world, it is forbidden to drive over a given speed limit. Let's say that a driver exceeded the legal speed limit, lost control of his vehicle and crashed. As a result of the accident he breaks his legs and is taken to the hospital. During the course of the examination, the doctor discovers that the accident was caused by speeding. Because speeding is illegal and forbidden, the doctor decides that it is the patients fault that he is suffering, and that he must pay the consequences of an illegal action. He therefore sends him home with a couple of analgesic and anti-inflammatory pills. As a general rule, people would agree that the doctor should be sued for malpractice in such a situation. It is a given that a specialist must never judge a patient, rather he is obligated to provide them with the best care available.

Let's continue with the example. This doctor understands the nature of bones, but he believes that ample rest and the analgesics should be enough to cure the patient. He does not take the pain factor into account, because he knows it will stop in a couple of weeks. The only difficult part of the treatment is to make the patients legs functional again. He knows that the patient will try to avoid doing the painful exercises that he needs, and he will even deceive his family and caretakers in order to avoid doing them. It can therefore be assumed that it is fairly unlikely that the bones will heal properly, and that any rehabilitation attempt would be quite unsuccessful. The patient will most likely complain from the pain and will not follow the doctor's instructions for rehabilitation. The doctor can therefore conclude that the patient cannot be cured because he is unwilling to cooperate with the rehabilitation- rather than claim that the treatment program was inadequate.

Current knowledge tells us that drugs damage essential brain mechanisms, such as receptors and neurotransmitters ("the bones"). If they are not treated properly, using a comprehensive and individually designed program( as opposed to tranquilizers), it is unlikely that the patient will be able to undergo a successful rehabilitation program.

The previous facts are fundamentals for our research programs. For example, in 1996 a major study regarding the success of our treatment program revealed that almost 5% dropped out of treatment after leaving the hospital, and before beginning the rehabilitation program. Rather than blaming the patient or the chronic nature of the illness, we searched for the reason behind the failure to continue with treatment. We discovered that a major cause of the problem was a depletion of specific electrolytes and brain neurotransmitters such as serotonin. We accounted for this in our treatment program, and are pleased that at present, the dropout rate for our patients at this stage of their treatment is less than 1%.