Holism was coined by Jan Christian Smuts in his 1926 book Holism and Evolution [Smuts completed the work between serving terms as prime minister of South Africa]. The first part of the word, hol, refers to whole, and the suffix -ism means principle or doctrine. In holistic, the suffix -istic is used to make it an adjective.
In medical contexts, holistic describes an approach that attempts to treat the overall well-being of a person, including physically, psychologically, and socially. Because this approach differs from traditional Western medicine, holistic treatments are often associated with alternative medicine. Many practitioners of holistic medicine operate under the philosophy that the body must be treated as a whole unit, taking into account the complex interactions of its parts. A similar approach is associated with the use of the term holistic in psychology: the mind is studied as a single unit, rather than a combination of its different parts or functions.
Holistic is sometimes used more generally in the context of business and other fields. This usually involves analyzing an organization, project, or process as a whole, especially in order to be more effective or efficient [as in We need to take a holistic approach to this restructuring process]. However, holistic in this context is sometimes seen as a buzzword, especially since it may be unclear what exactly it is supposed to mean.
When holistic is used in the context of alternative medicine, some people may perceive it as being unscientific.