How the Flexner Report Changed Healthcare— and Silenced Natural Healing
The Stigma Around Natural Healing Today
In today’s society, natural healing is often labeled as “woo-woo,” dismissed as unscientific or fringe, and relegated to the category of “alternative medicine.” But what’s rarely acknowledged is that these healing practices — using herbs, food as medicine, energy work, and spiritual connection — were actually the original forms of medicine, practiced for thousands of years across every culture. The only reason they’re no longer mainstream isn’t because they don’t work — it’s because their legitimacy has been systematically suppressed. Through decades of cultural conditioning, profit-driven agendas, and the rewriting of medical history, we’ve been taught to see modern pharmaceutical medicine as the only “real” option, while the deeper, more holistic approaches that honor the body’s innate intelligence have been pushed to the margins.
Natural Healing in the U.S. Pre-1910
Before the Flexner Report reshaped the medical landscape, natural healing was not only common — it was widely respected and integrated into everyday life in the United States. Herbal remedies, homeopathy, midwifery, energy healing, and indigenous healing practices were accessible, trusted, and often passed down through generations. Medical schools across the country taught a variety of healing modalities, and communities relied on local healers, herbalists, and natural practitioners for both acute and chronic care. There wasn’t just one way to heal — people understood that the body, mind, and spirit were connected, and that nature provided many of the tools needed for restoration. Healing was personal, intuitive, and rooted in connection, not just clinical protocol.
That all changed In 1910 when a report commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation was published that would alter the course of American healthcare forever. The Flexner Report, authored by educator Abraham Flexner, aimed to reform medical education in the United States and Canada. While it’s often credited with raising standards and introducing scientific rigor to medicine, the untold story is darker: the Flexner Report systematically disempowered holistic healing traditions, marginalized natural medicine, and helped pave the way for the pharmaceutical dominance we see today.
Let’s take a closer look at what the Flexner Report did — and what we lost because of it.
The Promise: A Modern Medical System
At the time of the report, medical education was in disarray. Schools varied in quality, some offered little clinical training, and others were proprietary diploma mills. Flexner, inspired by the German model of science-based medicine, advocated for high standards: rigorous admission criteria, laboratory research, and clinical rotations.
On paper, these reforms made sense. But what followed wasn’t just improvement — it was systematic erasure of any model of healing that didn’t fit the pharmaceutical, reductionist mold.
The Fallout: Destroying Natural and Holistic Medicine
In the aftermath of the Flexner Report:
Over half of all medical schools in the U.S. closed — especially those practicing homeopathy, naturopathy, herbalism, energy medicine, and traditional healing.
Schools that served women and people of color were disproportionately shut down, erasing both diversity and ancestral wisdom from the healthcare system.
Medical education became accessible only to those who could afford the new standardized training, further centralizing power and privilege.
Healing systems rooted in nature, energy, and spirit were branded as “unscientific,” “quackery,” or “folk medicine,” often without proper evaluation or understanding.
Suddenly, there was one “correct” way to practice medicine — and it was drug-centered, surgery-focused, and institutionally controlled.
The Rise of the Pharmaceutical Agenda
The Flexner Report was backed by the Carnegie and Rockefeller foundations, which had deep ties to the emerging pharmaceutical industry. Once "science" was defined strictly by laboratory data, chemical patents, and mechanistic thinking, the door swung wide open for:
Patentable drugs to dominate treatment protocols
Natural remedies to be discredited or outlawed
Research funding to be funneled almost exclusively toward pharmaceutical interventions
This wasn’t just about improving healthcare — it was about control, profit, and the marginalization of holistic wisdom.
What Was Lost: An Integrated Vision of Healing
Before the Flexner Report, many Americans had access to a wide range of healing options:
Herbalists, midwives, and homeopaths who worked with the body’s natural rhythms
Energy healers and spiritual practitioners who understood the emotional and energetic layers of illness
Culturally diverse approaches passed down through generations — including Indigenous, African, Chinese, and Ayurvedic traditions
These approaches viewed health not just as the absence of disease, but as balance — physical, emotional, spiritual, and environmental. They empowered individuals to be partners in their healing, not just passive recipients of prescriptions.
Where Are We Now?
The modern medical system excels in emergency care, diagnostics, and acute interventions. But it struggles with:
Chronic disease management
Preventative care
Mental and emotional health
Addressing root causes instead of symptoms
Many people feel disempowered, overmedicated, and under-listened to.
At the same time, we’re witnessing a quiet revolution. People are seeking alternatives — from functional medicine to Reiki, acupuncture, somatic therapies, nutrition, and more. Despite ongoing skepticism from the mainstream, these healing arts are resurging, often in integrative models that combine the best of both worlds.
The Way Forward: Reclaiming Wholeness
Understanding the impact of the Flexner Report allows us to see the modern healthcare system not as a neutral evolution, but as a system shaped by power, profit, and exclusion.
Now, over a century later, we have the opportunity to:
Honor diverse healing traditions
Reclaim natural and energetic approaches
Empower individuals as active participants in their wellness
Integrate science with spirit, intuition, and ancestral wisdom
Healing is not one-size-fits-all. It’s personal. It’s relational. It’s dynamic.
The Flexner Report narrowed the path. Now it’s time to widen it again — for ourselves, for our families, and for generations to come.