Frequently Asked Questions
How does the functional medicine process work?
Functional medicine is personalized medicine. We take a lot more time with you: the first appointment is 1-2 hours, and follow-ups are generally an hour. It is more than just figuring out what is going on in your body; it is also supporting you and finding ways to get through the healing process that work for you.
Do you take/accept insurance?
It’s not that we don’t want to take insurance, but insurance does not cover functional medicine and helping people improve their health. We do provide affordable monthly wellness memberships to help you optimize your health. You can also use your HSA account for appointments, testing and many treatments.
Can I get my labs done through my insurance?
We use Evexia Diagnostics functional lab for all of our testing and they do not allow insurance billing. This lab provides many different specialty labs that are not normally covered by traditional health insurance.
Can I be seen for just an acute visit?
Yes, we do provide episodic acute visits. These are $232/visit and payment is taken at time of service.
How long does it take to get results back once I’ve done testing?
It usually takes about 2 weeks for the functional medicine labs to get us the reports once they have received your testing kit at the lab. LabCorp is usually a 2-7 day turn around before they get us the lab results. Some more specialized labs (IgeneX, DNA, Doctors Data) may take longer. We are great at getting patients their labs within a day or two of our receiving them.
Do I have to do the labs you recommend?
No, but they are very helpful. Our goal is to make the functional medicine process as accessible as possible. This process is geared at both understanding what the underlying drivers of your health problems are and finding the solutions that work for you. The way we try to figure out the underlying causes is through “differential diagnosis.” It uses lab testing and analysis of your life and medical history as well as your response to therapies to try and understand what is going on in your body that is leading to your symptoms. Labs give us important pieces of the puzzle. That being said, we can always do our best through analyzing both your past as well as your response to therapies to try and figure the underlying drivers of your health issues. Without labs, this process may just take longer and have more trial and error, so we would just ask for your patience and willingness to trial therapies
Do I have to do all the labs and protocols you recommend?
As with any health provider, the choice is always yours. We are your expert consultants in helping you make the most informed decisions around your health. We will do our best to help you prioritize testing and protocols and to support you in incorporating all the information in making these decisions. We hope that this info helps you get the most out of our work together here at Thrive Health & Wellness! We believe that everyone should have the health they need in order to live their life to their fullest. It is truly our honor to be on this health journey with you.
Do you offer telehealth as an option?
We do offer telehealth as an option for your healthcare. Typically the initial visit is done in person in the comfort of your home and follow-ups are done via telehealth, but we are able to do the initial and follow-up visits via telehealth if you are out of our service area for home visits.
Do I still need a PCP when I am working with Thrive Health & Wellness?
You are welcome to continue seeing your PCP and work with us to optimize your health, but you can also use Thrive Health & Wellness as your functional primary care. We do things differently, so if you are truly dedicated to improving your health we would be a great fit as your PCP.