How the Flexner Report Replaced Holistic Healing with Pharmaceuticals

For most of human history, healing was rooted in holistic practices that integratively addressed the body, mind, spirit, and environment. Natural medicine, nutrition, herbal remedies, and lifestyle interventions were the foundation of healthcare. However, in the early 20th century, the Flexner Report caused a tremendous shift in American medicine. This report led to the closure of holistic medical schools, the systematic suppression of natural healing methods, and the rise of the pharmaceutical industry gaining control over medical education and healthcare. As a consequence, Americans have become increasingly reliant on prescription drugs while chronic illness rates skyrocket. This article explores how the Flexner Report replaced holistic healing with pharmaceuticals and created the chronic disease epidemic, reshaped modern medicine, and allowed corporate interests to push for a pharmaceutical-driven system.

The History of Holistic Health

Holistic health has been the foundation of healing practices for thousands of years. It emphasizes natural healing, treating the root cause of illness while using lifestyle and natural therapies for wellness. Traditional systems such as Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), herbalism, homeopathy, and naturopathy were widely practiced worldwide and in the United States before the rise of modern pharmaceutical-based medicine.

Before the early 20th century, medicine in the U.S. was highly diverse, incorporating multiple healing traditions:

• Herbal Medicine: Natural remedies from plants were commonly used to treat ailments. Native American, European, and Chinese herbalism was key in healthcare.
• Homeopathy: A widely respected medical system using highly diluted natural substances to stimulate the body’s healing process. It was common in the 1800s, with homeopathic hospitals and colleges thriving.
• Naturopathy: A system emphasizing diet, exercise, hydrotherapy, and botanical medicine to promote healing.
• Chiropractic & Osteopathy: These practices focus on the structural and energetic balance of the body to support natural healing.
• Traditional and Folk Medicine: Midwives, herbalists, and traditional healers provided natural treatments, focusing on prevention and lifestyle-based healing.

During this time, medical schools taught a variety of healing methods, and doctors had multiple approaches to treating disease. However, this changed drastically with the Flexner Report.

The Flexner Report and the Rise of Pharmaceutical Medicine

However, a major turning point in American medicine occurred in the early 20th century with the Flexner Report of 1910. Although Flexner was neither a physician, researcher, nor medical educator, his report led to profound and lasting changes in healthcare education and medicine. His report led to the suppression of holistic health practices, the closure of many institutions, standardized medical training, and an emphasis on allopathic medicine (symptom suppression with foreign agents), ultimately shaping modern medical education and the rise of the pharmaceutical industry as the dominant force in medical treatment.

Abraham Flexner, commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation and backed by the Rockefeller Foundation and American Medical Association (AMA), released a report evaluating medical schools in the U.S. and Canada. As a result, by the mid-20th century, the U.S. medical system had fully embraced pharmaceutical drugs, surgery, and symptom management as the primary forms of treatment, while nutrition, lifestyle, and holistic therapies were largely ignored and removed from healthcare’s lexicon. The Flexner Report brought about the pharmaceutical-driven model that changed medical schools and American healthcare.

The Legacy of the Flexner Report:

• The Closure of Holistic and Natural Medicine Schools – Homeopathic, naturopathic, herbal, and osteopathic schools were labeled “unscientific” and shut down.
• Suppression of Holistic Practices – Most medical schools removed education on nutrition, holistic therapies, homeopathy, naturopathy, herbalism, and disease prevention. Plus, these practitioners were marginalized and faced legal and regulatory challenges.
• Suppression of Alternative Healing – Doctors who practiced holistic medicine were discredited, and their practices were dismissed as “quackery.”
• Reduction in Preventative Care – The medical system became more focused on treating and suppressing symptoms rather than preventing disease through diet, lifestyle, and natural healing.
• Standardization of Medical Education – Only allopathic (drug- and surgery-based) medicine was promoted, and schools that did not follow this model lost funding and accreditation.
• Corporate Influence in Medicine – The pharmaceutical industry became the dominant force, funding medical schools and research and shaping healthcare policies.
• Rise of Pharmaceutical-Based Treatment – The Flexner Report aligned medical education with pharmaceutical companies, which heavily funded research and medical schools. Consequently, pharmaceuticals were marketed as miraculous fast-acting agents, and Americans were hooked, making the pharmaceutical industry one of the most profitable sectors, with drug companies making billions annually.

Why Are Americans Chronically Ill and Overmedicated?

Another consequence of the Flexner Report is the explosion of chronic disease. By eliminating natural practices, holistic approaches, and disease prevention, which highlights the influence of lifestyle and natural substances, while relying on pharmaceuticals to deal with symptoms, chronic disease started to rise. Nowadays, a staggering number of Americans suffer from chronic conditions – heart disease, diabetes, obesity, mental health issues, and autoimmune and neurodevelopmental disorders, to name a few. To make matters worse, the standard approach to managing these conditions is often a quick-fix pharmaceutical solution rather than addressing the root causes of illness.

Let’s look at some statistics to illustrate the significant prevalence of chronic diseases and the extensive use of prescription medications:

• Chronic Illness Prevalence: According to the CDC, approximately 60% of adult Americans have at least one chronic disease, such as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. Plus, four in ten adults in the U.S. have two or more chronic diseases
• General Prescription Medication Usage: Approximately 66% of adults in the United States use prescription drugs, while 25% are on four or more drugs
• Prescription Volume: In 2022, around 6.7 billion prescriptions were dispensed in the U.S., up from 3.95 billion in 2009

The pharmaceutical industry is thriving, with millions of Americans relying on prescription drugs daily. Rather than focusing on prevention and holistic healing, the medical system overwhelmingly prescribes medications that manage symptoms. Then, more medications are needed to deal with the side effects of those original prescriptions. While medications have their place in acute and life-threatening situations, the overuse of pharmaceuticals creates dependence and doesn’t promote true healing. This cycle benefits the pharmaceutical industry but does little to restore genuine health and well-being.

Reasons for The Flexner Report

The Carnegie and Rockefeller Foundations had significant financial and strategic interests in funding Abraham Flexner and the Flexner Report. Their motivations were largely tied to economic, industrial, and ideological goals to amass profit, gain corporate influence, and monopolize the medical system. Let’s examine the reasons behind the Flexner Report in detail:

Expansion of the Pharmaceutical and Petrochemical Industries

One of the biggest financial incentives for John D. Rockefeller was his deep investment in the petroleum industry. His oil empire extended into petrochemicals. At the time, petroleum-based drugs and synthetic chemicals were emerging as lucrative business ventures. The Rockefeller Foundation’s goal was to shift medicine toward pharmaceuticals, which were derived from oil-based chemicals.

Andrew Carnegie, a titan of the steel industry, was another wealthy magnate who had immense power over economic and social systems. The Carnegie Foundation wanted to consolidate control over healthcare. His funding of the Flexner Report can be seen as a move to harmonize medical education with this industrial vision, favoring a standardized, university-based system that sidelined cheaper, less profitable treatment protocols.

By eliminating traditional herbal, naturopathic, and holistic medicine, which relied on natural remedies, they paved the way for:

• Synthetic drugs made from petrochemicals
• The rise of the modern pharmaceutical industry, which they could profit from
• A medical system dependent on patented drugs, rather than natural, unpatentable cheap remedies – there is no real profit on vitamins C and D

The American Medical Association (AMA), which also supported the Flexner Report, gained power and control over medicine by aligning itself with these corporate interests. As a result, pharmaceutical companies—backed by Rockefeller money—became the primary force in medicine.

Control Over Medical Education and Standardization

Before the Flexner Report, medical education in the U.S. was diverse, with various schools teaching homeopathy, naturopathy, herbal medicine, and other holistic approaches alongside allopathic medicine. Many of these schools were independent, with little oversight or regulation.

By funding the Flexner Report, the Carnegie and Rockefeller Foundations helped standardize medical education by eliminating schools that did not conform to pharmaceutical- and surgery-based medicine. This allowed them to:

• Centralize and control medical training through university-based programs
• Create a “scientific” medical system that aligned with their industrial and financial interests
• Eliminate competition from alternative medicine, ensuring that all future doctors practice within the system they helped design

Monopoly on Healthcare and Long-Term Financial Gains

One of the objectives of the Rockefeller and Carnegie Foundations was monopoly. Controlling the medical industry would guarantee immense profits for decades. This is how this brilliant strategy worked:

• Hospitals and universities that aligned with the Flexner Report and adopted this approach received massive funding, making them dependent on their money
• This funding came with strings, which sidelined alternative practices like homeopathy, herbal medicine, nutrition, holistic treatments, and disease prevention in favor of allopathic (drug- and surgery-focused) medicine. Between 1910 and 1925, donations of over $60 million to medical education, a sum equivalent to hundreds of millions today, reshaped the landscape of American healthcare
• Doctors were trained exclusively in pharmaceutical-based treatments, guaranteeing that their protocols prioritized this approach over alternative healing methods

By funding the Flexner Report, the Rockefellers and Carnegies ensured that medicine became industrialized rather than a natural system focused on healing and disease prevention.

Elimination of Competition and Suppression of Natural Medicine

One of the most damaging effects of the Flexner Report was the systematic suppression of natural and holistic medicine:

• Over half of all U.S. medical schools were shut down, including homeopathic and naturopathic colleges
• Many alternative practitioners were discredited or driven out of business
• Nutritional therapy, herbal medicine, and mind-body healing were labeled “unscientific” and removed from medical education and treatment protocols, making them inaccessible through health insurance

The Rockefellers and Carnegies didn’t incite this change because they were philanthropists caring for humanity’s well-being and medicine that heals. They wanted a system where patients relied on pharmaceutical drugs for life, ensuring an endless revenue stream – a powerful business model!

Conclusion

The epidemic of chronic disease in the United States, coupled with the pervasive reliance on prescription medications, reflects a healthcare system that prioritizes symptom management over genuine healing. The statistics don’t lie: more than half of Americans are chronically ill, and two-thirds depend on pharmaceuticals. This overmedication stems not from necessity but from a century-long shift in medical philosophy, catalyzed by the Flexner Report of 1910. Once a nation rich with diverse, holistic healing traditions—herbalism, homeopathy, naturopathy, holistic prevention, and more—the U.S. was steered toward a pharmaceutical-driven model by corporate interests, notably the Carnegie and Rockefeller Foundations. These entities, motivated by profit and control, suppressed natural medicine, standardized medical education, and entrenched a system where drugs, often derived from their own petrochemical industries, became the cornerstone of care. The result is a population increasingly plagued by chronic illness, trapped in a cycle of medication dependence that benefits the pharmaceutical industry while demoting prevention and holistic wellness. To break this cycle, returning to holistic, natural, and preventative methods offers a path toward restoring health, challenging the legacy of a system built not for healing but for profit.

To a Fitter, Healthier You,

Adriana Albritton

The Fitness Wellness Mentor