As 2016 comes to an end, we celebrate another year of progress when it comes to health care built for us, the consumer.

As you will read in Health is a Choice, both doctors and our government are starting to realize that drugs aren’t always the answer and are encouraging integrative therapies. This is certainly a part of the new model of medicine on the horizon as we move from “an unsustainable fee-for-service model to a value-and-outcome-based system of care” (Dixon, p. 13).What does this mean? Doctors will no longer be reimbursed for the number of procedures they perform, but instead will be rewarded for getting patients better. Imagine that.

Doctors are listening, learning and understanding that integrative medicine – incorporating more natural therapies and prescribing prevention as well as treatment – is the health care of the future. We, as patients, need to do our part, too. When our doctor prescribes acupuncture for pain or meditation to lower our blood pressure instead of prescribing medication, we need to thank them, listen, and act.

The Coachella Valley remains a leader in integrative medicine. Desert Health^®’s goal is to present both worlds of allopathic and natural medicine, and this issue is once again full of those examples. We discuss advancements in Alzheimer’s (p. 4) and the role bio-identical hormones may play (p. 19). Tiffany Dalton presents healthy sugar substitutes for the holidays (p. 22) with a stamp of approval from dentist Nick Baumann (p. 9). We discuss the movement of personalized medicine through stem cell therapy (p. 10) and functional medicine (p. 13), and feature both medical and natural options for prostate health (pp. 8 and 11 respectively).

There is so much more and we thank you for reading our latest issue. As we enter our seventh year, we appreciate every health care practitioner taking part in this movement, and those of you who embrace the change.

Happy Holidays to You and Yours ~