Functional Medicine of Iowa

No. Insurance companies dictate care by prioritizing profit over patient care which limits appointment times, the provider's recommendations, and patient's treatments. Direct fee for service pay allows extended appointment times and medical freedom of treatments.  Patients can discuss with their insurance company if they will reimburse the cost of care through HSA or FSA. 

No.  There are plenty of expensive labs if you can afford them and are interested, but functional medicine is not lab based. With a proper history and physical exam, a plan can be developed to optimize health. All previous labs will be reviewed and some labs can be ordered through your PCP and covered by insurance.  Any functional medicine lab that is recommended will be judiciously chosen based on patient capabilities and if the results will change the plan of care. 

No. I will recommend specific supplements for treatments and/or deficiencies as needed. Not all supplements are created equal and if I recommend specific brands it is because they have exceptional quality with known purity.  Fullscript is used as a dispensary for supplement purchase with direct pay by, direct shipping to,  and a discounted price for the patient. 

Functional Medicine treats chronic conditions and optimizes health in conjunction with your primary care provider and other specialists. Your primary care provider will continue to provide annual exams, prescribe prescriptions,  and provide any acute care needs.  We will communicate with your PCP during your care as effective team members of your care.  Ideally, your treatment with functional medicine will be short term, relatively speaking, until your health is optimized, at which time we will see you as needed. 

Yes, as needed. Jessica is a board-certified PA and can order imaging and prescriptions if indicated for further evaluation and treatment of the patient.  These would typically be covered under insurance.  One of the goals of functional medicine is to optimize health, thereby reducing need for prescriptions.  No opioid or benzodiazepine prescriptions will be written.