What is functional medicine?
Functional medicine is a personalized, patient-centered, science-based approach to healing that focuses on the interconnectedness of all of our systems (for example gut inflammation leading to neuroinflammation and mental health disorders) to address root causes of disease, especially chronic diseases. Root causes can include nutritional triggers, environmental toxins, gastrointestinal inflammation, hormone imbalances, physical and emotional stress, and genetic predisposition –just to name a few. However, root causes can be a combination of these or other factors.
What conditions can you treat?
A detailed list of the conditions that we work with can be found here.
How much experience do you have with working with children?
Including a four-year residency, Dr. Nussbaum has been treating children for 13 years. As a board-certified pediatrician, she has been working with children from newborns through age 18.
I see that you work with kids a lot. Are you also accepting adults?
Yes, as a board-certified internist, Dr. Nussbaum has been working with adults of all ages, from 18 years old to all ages of senior citizens. She does not believe in an arbitrary age cut-off for providing care. She chose to train in both pediatrics and internal medicine so that she could work with people across the age spectrum.
Why don’t you take insurance?
Insurance companies influence physicians’ medical judgment by using their established algorithms to decide which tests to approve and by restricting medications to preferred lists. In essence, they dictate patients’ medical care. Their algorithms decide whether a lab test, imaging study or treatment is necessary for you instead of letting you and your doctor make that decision together!
Although patients are paying the cost of insurance, insurance companies do not give the patient access to the actual prices the insurance companies pay for those services. Insurance companies’ business model works because it gives the false impression that patients will save money.
We wanted to take control of our time spent with the individuals and families we work with and have the autonomy to provide the excellent care that everyone deserves. When making an appointment at Medford Functional Medicine, all costs are transparent. You can talk directly to your physician on the phone, send a text, or email.
Especially with functional medicine, we really need to understand the details of your life. That can’t be rushed. In insurance-billed visits, physicians spend on average 13-16 minutes with a patient, and often much less time for pediatric visits. Then, the physician hurries to see the next patient who has been waiting to see them because they’re double or triple booked. At Medford Functional Medicine, your whole appointment will be spent with a physician, and we schedule enough time between appointments so that you don’t feel rushed.
With functional medicine, the initial investment is higher out of pocket than the copay for insurance-billed visits, but you spend much less money long-term by actually getting to the root of your problem rather than increasing your medication list and incurring costs from complications of your illness. Can a price can be put on regaining your quality of life?
A great example is Type 2 diabetes. Reversing that through lifestyle changes can get you off medication, prevent neuropathy, amputations, blindness, kidney disease and other complications from diabetes. A doctor who is only allotted 13 to 16 minutes at a time will not be able to partner with you in the same capacity to reverse your condition.
Do I have to travel to Medford to see you?
No, although we prefer to see everyone for their initial visits in person in order to do an exam and connect in the same room, we can usually accommodate requests for video/ phone visits. Video/ phone and in-person visits will be for the same length of time and will cost the same amount per visit as an in-person visit.
What are your hours?
Monday through Friday from 10am to 4pm (EST).
How can we contact you?
info@medfordfunctionalmedicine.com
609-969-4844
How can we make an appointment?
To schedule an appointment, please call 609-969-4844 or email info@medfordfunctionalmedicine.com.
See here for more on what to expect when working with us.
How do you accommodate physical disabilities?
Our location is handicap accessible, and we can also offer home visits depending on location and schedule availability. If it is challenging for you to find transportation or to travel outside of your home, we can schedule a video visit instead.