Project Description
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE
The Functional Medicine model is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness. It requires a detailed understanding of each patient’s genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle factors and leverages that data to direct personalized treatment plans that lead to improved patient outcomes.
By addressing root cause, rather than symptoms, practitioners become oriented to identifying the complexity of disease. They may find one condition has many different causes and, likewise, one cause may result in many different conditions. As a result, Functional Medicine treatment targets the specific manifestations of disease in each individual.
(Source: Institute for Functional Medicine www.ifm.org)
Initial visit – thorough intake, where the patients have the opportunity to tell their story, talk about antecedents, previous illnesses, stressors, the mental-emotional well-being. We also look at existing recent blood tests, previous treatments, and decide what kind of investigations and functional tests we need to perform to uncover the root cause of the concerns.
Second visit – usually occurs after we have results from the functional tests that were performed, to discuss the approach and make a treatment plan. This might include a thorough discussion about nutrition, eating habits, and the implementation of a new dietary plan.
Third visit – depending on the treatment plan agreed upon in the second visit, the third visit takes place between 3-6 weeks after the second visit to monitor progress and address any questions or concerns that might have come up.
Follow-up visits – these visits are usually scheduled at 8-12 weeks intervals, depending on each patient’s situation. We will monitor progress, address questions and also make changes to the treatment plan, if needed.
View my practitioner profile on the Institute for Functional Medicine’s website.