 My name is Dr. Irene Awile. I'm an integrative medicine physician at Hack and Sac Meridian integrative health and medicine. Integrative medicine takes into account the whole person and tries to deliver care based upon a strong patient-physician relationship. We're referring to one's emotional, spiritual, and physical health and promoting wellness we try to focus on how one eats, thinks, moves, sleeps, and the environment they live in. With integrative medicine the physician is usually the guide or the teacher and the patient is the one in charge of their own health journey. The beauty of the integrative medicine program at Hack and Sac Meridian Health is that it truly is a team-based approach. I may recommend a therapeutic diet. The patient will then meet with the nutritionists to delve into detail on how to implement that diet. They may also meet with the health coach for strategies on behavior change. They may meet with the health psychologists to talk about their sleep difficulties and of course we also have acupuncture and massage therapy for relaxation and pain management if those things need to be addressed as well. We meet on a weekly basis to discuss the patient cases. At those meetings each of the professionals is able to provide their perspective and give feedback on how the patient is progressing. My focus is on determining the why behind the patient's symptom presentation, treating any imbalances that we may find, and enhancing nutritional support so that the patient's own body's physiological processes can function optimally. I try to order the least number of tests and prescribe the least number of herb supplements and interventions needed to achieve healing.