Yousef Zarbalian, MD
Dr. Zarbalian or "Dr. Z" chose medicine as a profession because of his innate empathy for human suffering, as well as his passion for life-long learning. These two impulses found their home first in internal medicine residency training, followed by rheumatology subspecialty training. After three years of experience in a rheumatology clinic seeing hundreds of patients struggling despite state-of-the-art western medicine, Dr. Zarbalian decided to expand his expertise in holistic medical care. In 2019, Dr. Zarbalian made his next step in his evolution as a healer: provide an environment where his unique skillset in immunology, western pharmacology and herbalism, and medical acupuncture could be offered to his community. East-West Rheumatology opened its doors in 2019 and has already made a significant impact on many patients with common rheumatologic conditions that often elude standard western medical approaches.
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Outside of medicine, Dr. Zarbalian has a passion for musical performance, nature, and literature. He sings and plays the setar, a 4-stringed Persian lute instrument.
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Dr. Zarbalian's education:
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Undergraduate: Louisiana State University
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Medical school: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
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Residency, Internal Medicine: University of Maryland Medical Center
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Fellowship, Rheumatology: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
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Medical acupuncture training: The Helms Medical Institute, Acupuncture for Physicians
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Fellowship, Herbal medicine: Association for the Advancement of Restorative medicine (AARM)
Dr. Zarbalian's reviews:
Webmd​
Dr. Zarbalian's service work:
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About East-West Rheumatology and Direct Physician Care
East-West Rheumatology is a clinic founded by Dr. Yousef Zarbalian with a mission of delivering a holistic model of medical care and redefining the physician-patient relationship. Dr. Z empowers his patients to take a multifaceted approach to autoimmune disease, inflammation, and chronic pain among many other conditions.
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Our Philosophy
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A holistic view of you as a person and your health needs ​
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Centered on reaching your health goals rather than a disease-centered approach
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Shared decision-making on diagnostic testing and treatment
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Emphasis on non-pharmaceutical approaches
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Dietary modification and herbal medicine to effect the microbiome and manage dysbiosis, a root cause in many autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
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Acupuncture and Cupping to address the structural component of many musculoskeletal conditions as well as neuroimmune modulation tools.
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Lifestyle changes: mind-body medicine techniques, such as biofeedback, Heartmath® and meditation
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Group exercise: Walk with a Doc
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Reduce the intrusion of insurance companies and drug companies into medical decision-making and care ( see "Direct Physician Care")