Greeting special guest Edith Morrey (the picture of health at 103!) at the Desert Health® Wellness Awards.

I feel certain that it won’t be long before integrative medicine becomes standard care.

Impressive progress has been made in the last five years: doctors can now get board certifications in Integrative, Holistic and/or Functional Medicine; clinicians and hospitals are becoming more accepting of what used to be called alternative therapies such as acupuncture, supplementation, and energy medicine; and medical students are now learning integrative medicine as part of their standard curriculum, which is certain to produce a more well-rounded generation of doctors.

I had the privilege of sitting in on a lecture by David Rakel, M.D., editor of the go-to textbook Integrative Medicine, as he spoke to primary care physicians and residents at Eisenhower Medical Center. His encouraging words are shared in Health is a Choice, and I commend Dr. Joe Scherger for recruiting him to speak to his team.

Things are changing. And nothing is more apparent than the fact that in 2018, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are going to shift their reimbursement model so that 90% is “value over volume” which means physicians will be reimbursed for the number of people they keep well. So, the medical community is ready to listen. (We will write more about this in an upcoming issue).

The enthusiastic group of new residents in the UCR/Desert Regional program certainly brings new perspectives with them. The 77 young residents now in our valley’s two medical schools are sure to teach our local doctors as much as they will learn.

But don’t forget…This whole movement started with us – the patients – who are taking control of our health, educating ourselves on all options available, and demanding more.

So keep it up! Let’s help our doctors help us stay healthy. Who knows? Maybe one day our health care system will actually portray the picture of health.