Maricopa County employees will have a preventive health care option next year as part of their health insurance program and can be part of a University of Arizona research study to compare health and cost outcomes of "integrative medical care" with conventional health care.
The county has entered a three-year agreement with the UA Center for Integrative Medicine, founded and directed by Dr. Andrew Weil, to set up a primary health care clinic for some 1,500 county employees, beginning July 1.
Integrative medicine emphasizes preventive care, exercise, diet, stress reduction and behavioral changes along with alternative therapies including acupuncture, herbal medicine and yoga. The three-year, $1.3 million outcomes study will be funded by the Adolph Coors Foundation and is believed to be the first comparative outcomes study with a large population base.
