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 Between Inflammatory Biomarkers and All-Cause, Cardiovascular, and Cancer-Specific Mortality
- Inhaled Budesonide and Intravenous Methylprednisolone for Acute Exacerbation of COPD
- Genetic Risk, Adherence to a Healthy Lifestyle, and Coronary Disease
- 2016 Top Stories in Primary Care: Time Share: More Face Time WIth Patients, Less With EHR
- How Health Coaches Support Patients in Making Health-Related Decisions and Behavioral Changes
- Two Forms of Omega-3 Supplements for Treating Dry Eye Disease
- Correct Cuff Size Aids Diagnosis of Hypertension in Obese Patients
- Diet as a Trigger or Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
- The Global Increase of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Technology-Based Risk Assessment Tools Facilitate Shared Decision-Making, and the Art of Medicine Holds Its Own