Dr. Karla Birkholz, MD

Karla Birkholz M.D. loves serving as personal physician to people who want to feel and be the best they can be. She has studied intensively throughout her career in family practice to become an expert in prevention and wellness.

Having recently “retired from insurance medicine”, she now enjoys freely applying the most cutting-edge science of prevention and personalized, lifestyle medicine to help her patients achieve an optimal experience of life.

On March 30th, the Arizona Academy of Family Physicians honored Dr. Birkholz as the 2019 Family Physician of the Year, a lifetime achievement award given to recognizing the contributions and leadership of an outstanding family physician in the state of Arizona.

 Dr B. has always contributed to academic, community and political activities in family medicine to improve health care on local, state and national levels.

She was President of the Arizona Academy of Family Physicians and served on the Board of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

She has also served on the boards of the Arizona Medical Association, the Maricopa Area Health Education Center and Arrowhead Hospital Medical Center.

Her primary community volunteer efforts have been in the areas of Adolescent Health, Community Health Workers, and Autism. She has lectured extensively, been featured in news and education articles, and appeared frequently on radio and TV.

She was recognized as a top physician by KPHO TV and was honored to receive the Arizona Medical Association Humanitarian Physician of the Year in 2016.