David Rakel MD, FAAFP
Esther Millard Endowed Professor, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health; Chair, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WisconsinDave Rakel is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin. He joined the faculty of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health in 2001 as an assistant professor of family medicine. 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.
An author of both academic and popular writings, Rakel says one of his missions is to communicate medical information in a way that is accessible to people of all backgrounds. He has published 11 books, including the Textbook of Family Medicine, Current Therapy, and Integrative Medicine, as well as peer-reviewed research on the impact of measures such as mindfulness meditation and the power of the therapeutic encounter. He serves as editor-in-chief of Practice Update, a website devoted to commentaries on primary medical care research. His 2018 book The Compassionate Connection focuses on how relationship-building can influence health outcomes.
Rakel obtained his undergraduate degree from Colorado College and graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 1991. After residency training in family medicine in Colorado, he worked in private practice in rural Idaho. His burgeoning interest in the relationships between health, the human experience, and the environment led to a fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona.
Disclosures
Dr. Rakel has nothing to disclose.
Recent Contributions to PracticeUpdate:
- Association of Patient Preferences for Participation in Decision Making With Length of Stay and Costs Among Hospitalized Patients
- Intake of Fish and Marine n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Risk of Breast Cancer: Meta-Analysis of Data From 21 Independent Prospective Cohort Studies
- Effects of Dietary Glycemic Index on Brain Regions Related to Reward and Craving in Men
- Spiritual Care by Medical Team May Reduce Aggressive End-of-Life Intervention
- Effect of Polyphenol-Rich Food on PSA in Men with Prostate Cancer
- Functional Outcomes May Improve With Early Intensive BP Lowering After Acute Intracerebral Hemorrhage
- Increased Sleep in Adolescents May Help Prevent Obesity
- Testosterone Therapy Increase Risk of CVs
- 12-Months Later: Follow-Up of Yoga Intervention for Chronic Neck Pain
- Cuba’s Economic Crisis Yielded Reduced Diabetes, CVD, Death