Tips for Starting a Functional Medicine Practice

For those who choose to own their own business and become a “health entrepreneur”, the following are a few resources to get you started (longer and more detailed list provided in the Guidebook)

  • FIRST: Create a checklist of what you need.
    • There are many things you need beyond a name and some documents when getting started.  While I was setting up my business, I put together a “checklist” of what I had to do (and learned that I had to do).  Before spending a lot of money, it may be good to know what to expect!
    • This includes, but is not limited to:
      • EMR (Electronic Medical Record): See this page for a list of common ones used in functional medicine practices.
      • Consents and disclaimers
      • Malpractice and liability insurance
      • Registering your business with the state
      • Verifying there are no trademarks on your business name
      • Adminsitrative support
      • Brick and mortar considerations
      • Marketing and business exposure
  • SECOND: How are you going to market the practice?
    • A few organizations that can help with the marketing (some provide functional medicine education as well):
      • Nurse Practitioner Maggie Berkoff’s OBA (Online Business Academy) or Elite Business Mastermind:   I bought OBA, and there is a LOT of information (and templates)!
      • Marketing company that does a lot of the work for you, and focuses mainly on functional/integrative medicine practices: Big Boost Marketing (tip = join the private Facebook group, since Uli – the founder – provides a lot of information and free webinars)
      • Practice Accelerator (co-created by one of my friends, James Maskell – host of the Functional Forum and Evolution of Medicine podcast; click here to listen to a podcast episode on the Practice Accelerator)
      • Catalyst Mentorship with Dr. Lara Salyer (who lives in a small town in Wisconsin, and managed to create a successful membership-based practice, and uses her art/creativity to help clinicians rediscover a passion for medicine).  Dr. Salyer is also a new addition to the School of Applied Functional Medicine (SAFM), teaching her methods to SAFM students.
      • Kalish Institute: Dr. Dan Kalish has a separate course all about creating a functional medicine business, but also has individual courses specifically on functional medicine training as well as an entire certification with both business and functional medicine education.
  • THIRD: Obtain legal support (see this page for some attorneys well-versed in integrative/functional medicine).
    • You need to have good documents with “legal language,” especially if you maintain an active license and will be prescribing supplements/nutrition recommendations (which are often not standard of care per mainstream “rules”).
    • Small business attorneys may help with some of the operations (and you may be able to avoid the large retainer fees!), but for consents and other “CYA” documents, you need an attorney who is knowledgeable about integrative/functional medicine.  Scott Rattigan is an attorney, whose wife owns a functional medicine practice, who provides over 20 a-la-carte documents/contracts, if you want to avoid a retainer fee.  See the video on this page for a glimpse into the full membership, that provides all documents.

JUST WANT A JOB?

If owning your own practice isn’t something you’re interested in now, but you want to work for a practice that utilizes functional or integrative medicine, consider the following:

  • Integrated Connects, the primary resource for jobs in the integrative and functional medicine space.
  • I also created a low-cost resource to help improve chances for an interview (especially if you don’t have much functional medicine education), as well as creative considerations to help you find a job in this “specialty”.

Brief note for licensed clinicians that want to have a “side gig” as a health coach:

  • If you plan on maintaining an active state-issued license, you have to abide by the rules of your license.
  • Health coaching often involves supplement and nutrition tips as treatment recommendations, which are perceived as “practicing medicine” by medical/nursing organizations.
  • It’s very complicated, but essentially you can risk losing your license if you don’t have attorney-reviewed contracts that lay out what you can and cannot do as a health coach (vs your role as a licensed medical provider).  It’s so tricky, that many attorneys actually advise against having the 2 roles at the same time!
  • I recorded a talk with Scott Rattigan on this subject (and telemedicine), if interested in being more informed.

Check out 2 blog articles I wrote on this topic: