Frequently Asked Questions

What is functional medicine?

Functional medicine is the future of healthcare because it doesn’t just put out fires, it prevents them. Instances of chronic health issues have risen dramatically in recent years and their prevalence has overwhelmed our healthcare system. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, autoimmune disease, cancer, anxiety/depression, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), thyroid disease, and environmental diseases from tickborne infections, mold, and heavy metals toxicities are all examples of chronic health issues that can be managed and treated through the integrative lens of functional medicine.

The goal of a functional approach is to restore wellness and regain optimal function of the whole body, no matter the issue you are experiencing. As functional medicine practitioners, we promote wellness by focusing on the fundamental underlying factors that influence every patient’s experience of health and disease. We often work side-by-side with your current healthcare providers to advocate on your behalf since we are not considered primary care providers.

In functional medicine, we like to say that you have “issues with your tissues” that can ultimately be reversed or managed when looking upstream for the root cause. No longer are we looking for just a disease diagnosis that is a permanent condition. We do more than labeling a condition as a disease and we are unaccepting that unknown conditions can be left unanswered. We look deeper into a patient’s symptoms, background, environment, nutrition, lifestyle, and habits, and offer a holistic wellness plan that is actionable and personalized. The integrative journey to wellness also utilizes results from certain labs and functional testing that differs from what the fragmented model of traditional medicine can offer. Your personalized wellness plan is then developed exclusively for you and includes the tools to make lifelong changes that will help you restore your health and take back control of your wellness.

What is functional nutrition and how is it different than conventional approaches?

Functional nutrition uses a food as medicine approach to restore balance in the body, heal the gut, reduce inflammation, and replenish micronutrient deficiencies. Since each person is unique, we provide personalized nutrition guidance based on your lab results, genetics, lifestyle, food sensitivities, and preferences. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all wellness or meal plan in functional nutrition. Each plan is designed to first be achievable, but also so that it meets your body’s needs, reduces your symptoms, and renews your health.

While conventional nutrition therapy provides recommendations that are centric to a specific disease state, functional nutrition uses a whole-body approach to optimize health by providing targeted recommendations to address the root cause of a symptom with the uniqueness of each individual in mind.

Does Pursue Wellness replace the need for a primary care provider?

We are not primary care providers and our model at Pursue Wellness does not treat acute illness or provide annual physicals.

What type of visits are available at Pursue Wellness?

Virtual or in-person visits are available depending on circumstances and preferences. In some cases, you may be required to establish care in-person for the first visit. Virtual visits include phone or HIPAA compliant video calls. All consults with the registered dietitian will be conducted virtually.

Do you accept health insurance for functional medicine and nutrition care?

We offer comprehensive and thorough care, and do not accept health insurance as a form of payment. We never want to base treatment options simply on your insurance coverage because it does not allow us the opportunity to adequately dedicate the time and resources necessary to support you and your health concerns.

If requested, we can provide you with a ‘superbill’ to capture the billing codes for services received at Pursue Wellness. It is the individual’s responsibility to submit all claims to insurance companies for deductibles, accruals to health spending accounts, and reimbursement.

What forms of payment do you accept?

All consults with practitioners are payable using a credit card or Health Spending Account through our electronic medical record platform. Pursue Wellness does not accept checks or cash for consults with Cindy and Kerah.

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