29C. The University of Arizona Integrative Health Center: The Development and Testing of a New Business Model for Integrative Primary Care

This session will advance the development of sustainable complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) practice models by presenting the business plan for a model integrative primary care clinic, its results to date, and the plan for its continuous evaluation. The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine recently opened the University of Arizona Integrative Health Center (UAIHC), an adult primary care clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, in affiliation with District Medical Group. Developed through an extensive planning by interdisciplinary experts and a strategic market forecasting approach, the business plan includes the clinic’s mission and vision, market assessment, organizational structure and staffing plan, projected patient flow, and financial estimates. A hybrid financing approach that combines health insurance reimbursement with patient membership fees (in some cases partially underwritten by employer contributions) prevents barriers to a full IM approach including complementary medicine treatments, individual health coaching sessions, health promotion classes and groups, and extended visit lengths.