David Rakel MD, FAAFP
Professor and Chair, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WisconsinDr. David Rakel is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin. During his time at UW–Madison, he founded the Integrative Medicine Program (now known as the Integrative Health Program) and received the Gold Foundation’s Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, the school’s highest honor for excellence and compassion in care. His team worked with more than 50 clinical systems within the Veterans Health Administration to implement changes to make care more personalized, proactive, and patient-driven.
After residency training in family medicine in Colorado, Dr. Rakel worked in private practice in rural Idaho. His burgeoning interest in the relationships across health, the human experience, and the environment led to a fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona.
An author of both academic and popular writings, Dr. Rakel says one of his missions is to communicate medical information in a way that is accessible to people of all backgrounds.
Recent Contributions to PracticeUpdate:
- Breastfeeding Dose-Dependently Reduces Risk of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
- A Game-Based Intervention Designed to Enhance Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity Among Families
- Dietary and Lifestyle Risk Factors Associated With Incident Kidney Stones
- The Therapeutic Effect of Probiotics on Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Alkaline Water and Mediterranean Diet Comparable to PPI Inhibition for Treatment of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
- Differential Blood Pressure Effects of Ibuprofen, Naproxen, and Celecoxib in Patients With Arthritis
- Fruit, Vegetable, and Legume Intake, and Cardiovascular Disease and Deaths
- Associations of Fats and Carbohydrate Intake With Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality
- Lithium in Drinking Water Associated With the Incidence of Dementia
- Can Cranberries Contribute to Reduce the Incidence of Urinary Tract Infections?