What to expect when you decide to partner with us
Get ready for a more supportive, empowering, and positive healthcare experience!
Our functional medicine approach to health and wellness involves proven processes that have helped produce a lot of successful results for our patients. For us to work well together, it’s important for us that you understand what to expect. Wherever you are in the continuum of your journey to great health, whether we’re addressing chronic disease, helping you take the next step in your health and wellness goals, or supporting ongoing prevention from illness and disease, the current care we’re providing to you will fit into at least one of these 5 stages.
Stage 1
Discovery
Taking more time to get the complete picture of your health and wellness
Whether we’re searching for the root-cause of an illness to reverse chronic disease, or helping you achieve your optimal health to prevent illness and feel your best, we first need to completely understand what makes you who you are inside and out. This is the foundation of our ability to heal, and to support you in your journey to great health and wellness. There are no shortcuts in this process, so this first appointment is typically about 1.5-2 hours. During this time, you’ll find we’re much more thorough and take more time than most to completely understand your full story. This means your health and wellness goals, your medical history, physical, mental and social factors, your environment, diet and eating patterns, and any other precipitating factor throughout your life that may impact your health and wellness to this point. At the end of this stage, we will have learned a lot about your unique health needs, and will begin to formulate your personal treatment or true health optimization plan with recommendations related to diet, supplements, and lifestyle changes.
Stage 2
Testing
Being more comprehensive in our search for health
If it’s necessary to dig deeper, you may be asked to have comprehensive lab work done. Patients and clients typically learn we are looking at much more than other practices do; especially conventional medicine practices; and our strict lab ranges are based on optimal physiology, not wide reference ranges where a lot of health conditions are incorrectly considered normal. Remember, we want to get the complete picture of your health. Conventional medicine usually just scratches the surface because they’re treating a symptom. We are looking for health. Our labs aren’t unique (they’re available to every practice). But we know when to look at what, and what not to look at when. Lab work will include some typical lab tests, along with different tests based on your individual needs that we discover during your initial appointment.
Stage 3
Analysis & Recommendations
Reviewing everything together before finalizing your personal plan for better health
Your second appointment with your provider will be 2-4 weeks after your initial visit. This gives us time to get your lab work back and for your provider to assess the results, and finish formulating his or her recommendations for a personal treatment or true health optimization plan uniquely catered to you. During this appointment your provider will walk through every part of your lab results, providing detailed interpretation and answering any questions you may have. We work hard to create a safe healing environment, where all questions or concerns are welcome. So this appointment is typically about 1-1.5 hrs, to make sure you understand everything we’re seeing and recommending. If after the appointment, you still have questions, you can reach out to your care team anytime. Your personal care plan may include very detailed recommendations on diet, supplements, therapies, and lifestyle changes. Plus any additional testing if necessary.
Stage 4
Implementation
Supporting you in your journey towards the greatest you
It’s time to jumpstart your healing! Your personal treatment or true health optimization plan provides us all with the roadmap, but from this point forward, you have the keys to your health. You have true ownership. We’re 100% still here, still invested in helping you reach your goals, continuing to provide direction and guidance whenever needed, and adjusting your plan as your health changes. There will be follow up appointments, future lab work to monitor progress, and ongoing conversations throughout.
Stage 5
Maintenance
Continuing to support you in your journey towards great health
We’ve helped you reverse your chronic disease, or maybe at this singular point in your life you’ve reached your health and wellness goals. The thing is, great health is a continuum. We all need to constantly work on being healthy. Whether from growing older, or changes in your environment; something unexpected happening, or a new virus infecting the world, being healthy and living a fulfilling life doesn’t have a stopping point. We need to make adjustments to health plans and diets, accordingly make changes to our lifestyle, and continually work to prevent future health issues. Remember, you now have control of your own health. But we’ll always be here to support you in your journey. That’s what makes us a true integrated health and wellness partner.
After being diagnosed with Lynch Syndrome, a gene mutation which increases chances of certain cancers, I went in to see Dr. Priest at his functional medicine practice. At my initial visit Dr. Priest was clearly educated towards my issue and listened about my family medical history. After some labs and another visit, I was put on a customized preventative protocol of various supplements. Any questions I have are answered quickly and Dr. Priest and his team make me feel part of their community. Highly recommend in2GREAT as they seem to get to the root cause and solve things other doctors can’t. If you are looking for an alternative medicine approach give them a try!