Frequently Asked Questions
What is meant by “Alternative/Complementary” medicine?
It is true that in the world of medicine, such terms as “alternative” and “complementary” can acquire very vague meanings. There are a whole host of treatments and therapies that can be lumped under this umbrella. Our focus would better be termed “functional” medicine. To define this, I actually appreciate the Wikipedia description:
“[Functional medicine] claims to focus on treating individuals who may have bodily symptoms, imbalances and dysfunctions. Functional medicine seeks to identify and address the root causes of disease, and views the body as one integrated system, not a collection of independent organs divided up by medical specialties. Functional medicine practitioners provide chronic care management with the belief that ‘diet, nutrition, and exposure to environmental toxins play central roles in functional medicine because they may predispose to illness, provoke symptoms, and modulate the activity of biochemical mediators through a complex and diverse set of mechanisms.’”
What about other “alternative” therapies such as homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, etc.?
The human body is tremendously complex. It is not an overstatement to say that despite all of the discoveries and advancements we have made in medicine, the more we learn, the more overwhelmed we feel with what we do not yet understand. Because of this, we at the Integrative Healthcare Center are very reluctant to discount any alternative forms of healthcare. We certainly do condemn any ideas or individuals who manipulate or pressure patients into ineffective programs or therapies merely to take their money. But, in general, we try to keep a very open ear to learning or being introduced to new ideas - regardless of whether or not they fit our present paradigm.
At our office we work mostly in the osteopathic (similar to chiropractic in some ways) and functional (similar to naturopathic) medicine paradigms. Faith, prayer, and spiritual health are also very important to our perspective. We have had some success with homeopathic remedies and variations on the principles of acupuncture, although these are not our focus.
Furthermore, at our office we do not presently do such things as traditional acupuncture, applied kinesiology, aura massage/Reiki, massage therapy, iridology, hypnosis, magnet therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, or colonics.
What insurances do you participate with?
As it is our goal to be both cutting-edge and as natural as possible in our approach to restoring health to our patients, our experience is that insurance companies do not always cover our services. As a result, we have decided not to participate with insurances other than Medicare. We find that we are actually better able to keep costs down for our patients by not having to have full-time staff members devoted to communicating with insurance companies about coverage and reimbursement.
Some of our services are covered by insurances (certain office calls, some blood work, EKG, x-rays, spirometry, ABI, bone density, some laser, etc.). We are happy to courtesy bill your insurance for you. (This means that reimbursement for covered services will be sent directly to you and not to us.)
In short, we are a “fee-for-service” office, we participate with Medicare, we will courtesy bill any insurance, and we do our very best to offer the lowest prices with the highest quality to our patients.
What do you do for pain?
Since our philosophy on medicine is to always try to get to the root cause of the problem, this is also true of how we manage pain. Pain comes in all sorts of varieties and causes, so a thorough consultation is needed to come up with a comprehensive and personalized approach to treating it. Depending on the case, we have many tools to implement: osteopathic manipulative techniques, Electro-Accuscope/Myopulse, Prolotherapy, natural anti-inflammatory supplements, intravenous Colchicine, in addition to all the traditional modalities: physical therapy, trigger-point injections, prescription anti-inflammatories, neuro-chemical modulators (SSRIs, SNRIs, TCAs, anticonvulsants), topical anesthetics, muscle relaxers, and narcotics.
Please note that our office policy is that we do not write for medical marijuana nor will we prescribe narcotics or other controlled substances on a first visit.
What is chelation?
Please see our Chelation Therapy treatment page.
How much time will I have with the doctor?
We typically schedule 30 minute appointments. Regardless, we always try to give as much time as is needed to thoroughly address the patient’s issues.
How do you treat cancer?
It is exceedingly important to be clear that we do not treat cancer. We do not attempt, nor purport to be oncologists or a cancer center. Furthermore, we recommend that you follow the advice of your oncologist.
Having said that, we believe that there are a whole host of alternative and complementary options that may significantly and positively affect the health of our patients who have cancer. As we have mentioned, our role is to remove barriers to normal biochemical physiology, replace nutrients and co-factors, and give the body whatever else it needs in order to be in the best overall state of health. We cannot emphasize enough that the foundation of any therapy should be proper nutrition. We believe it is crucial to follow a regular program of exercise and supplementation with vitamins, minerals, and, especially, anti-oxidants. We have other resources at our office if you are interested in learning more.
Aren’t all supplements the same?
Unfortunately, no. Although the quality regulations on vitamins and supplements are more controlled than perhaps the media or anti-alternative voices suggest, it still remains that to some extent “you pay for what you get.” We have done our research on supplements and nutraceuticals, in part, so that you don’t have to. We work hard to come up with the best quality supplements at the best prices. Our products (in the vast majority of cases) are free from allergens, preservatives, dyes, etc, and are produced by medical-grade nutraceutical companies of high repute. If for some reason you prefer to buy elsewhere, we will do our best to direct you to comparable products.