(Frequently Asked Questions)
FAQ
What’s Different ?
How is Functional Medicine different from "conventional" medicine ?
A Functional Medicine doctor visit is quite different from your typical doctor visit. We spend a lot of time digging deeply into your life history, looking for factors that have left “footprints” that influence you now. We search for time sequence using a Timeline. We look for things that have happened to you (Antecedents), things that caused changes (Triggers) and things that persist in your life (Mediators). We search for imbalance in lifestyle issues, such as sleep, nutrition, movement, stress, relationships, toxin exposures. We take a systems approach, holistic view, rather than focusing on any one organ.
Becoming a Patient – Getting Started
How do I become a patient?
You can send an email to efreeman.do@gmail.com , or call or text by phone (207-967-3726) to leave a message. We will follow with a phone contact to get basic demographic information and set up a time for a first appointment.
What do I need to do before my first appointment?
We will send medical history forms, one of which is quite extensive. The events of your life are the causes of your current status and are highly important. This information will form the basis of our in depth conversation about your unique circumstances. There will be other administrative forms to complete as well.
Do I need to get copies of past medical records?
Records from your past medical care can be very informative and helpful and will hasten learning some of your issues. If you have any records, especially the last 2-3 years, please bring them with you. If you have none, we will complete forms with you to send to your past doctor(s).
Can Dr. Freeman be my Primary Care Doctor?
We do not provide Primary Care services, and very strongly advise, and sometimes insist, that you to have your own PCP. We do not maintain 24/7 availability. Our Direct Primary Care panel is currently full. Your name can be added to a witing list if you like. Our Functional Medicine service to you is as a consultant and a coach to partner with you about preventive, nutritional and functional means to attend to the root causes of chronic conditions. We hope that we can communicate with your PCP.
What are your hours?
Office hours are most Mondays and Tuesdays: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Wednesdays: 8:00 – Noon.
Where are you located?
Our office is currently in my home in Alfred, Maine. Our initial visit needs to be an in-person, face-to-face one. These visits can be done at your home or mine. Any appointment for obtaining laboratory specimens, of course, must be in-person. We believe that good medical practice is best done with in-person visits, but much can be accomplished using technological aids, such as virtual telemedicine visits, email and texting. For house calls at your home, a chaperone must be provided; if one is not available to you, we can provide one at additional cost.
Services Offered
What services do you offer?
Our primary focus is Functional Medicine evaluations and advice.
We still do have some patients in the Direct Primary Care (DPC)model. However, the patient panel for DPC is full. We do maintain a waiting list; please let us know if you want to be listed
We still do some Osteopathic Medicine / OMT as time is available in the schedule.
We still do some Addiction Medicine care. A waiting list is maintained for that service.
What conditions do you treat?
We focus on the prevention and treatment of chronic disease. However, a specific condition may be your motivation to request evaluation, but our assessment and treatment recommendations will probably be a lot broader. Many specific conditions have multiple root causes; also a single, or a few, cause(s) can lead to a multiple symptoms. We make no guarantee of results; we do promise our best effort at detective work. Here are some examples of symptoms and conditions probably amenable to functional evaluation:
– Acne
– Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
– Arthritis
– Asthma
– Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADD, ADHD
– Autoimmune Diseases
– Cancer Prevention
– Chronic Fatigue
– Chronic Sinusitis
– Depression and Anxiety
– Detoxification and Healing
– Diabetes
– Digestive Disorders (IBD, IBS, GERD/Reflux)
– Eczema/Psoriasis
– Elevated Cholesterol
– Environmental and Food Allergies
– Fatigue
– Female Disorders (PMS, Menopause, Infertility, PCOS)
– Fibromyalgia
– Healthy Aging
– Healthy Weight and Metabolism
– Heart Health
– Hormone Balance
– Interstitial Cystitis
– Low Testosterone
– Mercury and Heavy Metal Toxicity
– Metabolic Syndrome, Pre-Diabetes, Insulin Resistance
– Migraines and Headaches
– Multiple Sclerosis
– Obesity
– Osteoporosis
– Parkinson’s Disease
– Restless Leg Syndrome
– Sleep/Insomnia
– Thyroid and Adrenal Disorders
Do you work with patients with auto-immune (AI) disorders?
Yes. We believe the concepts of functional medicine offer significant hope for improvement of AI disorders.
Do you work with patients with cancer?
Yes. Functional medicine principles can help reduce the tendency of cancers to start and to grow by using lifestyle modifications, especially nutrition, to improve your immune function and detoxification. If you are already in cancer treatment, we want your oncologist to know you are seeing us, and we will work in collaboration with that team.
Administrative / Financial Questions
Do you accept my insurance?
All of our services are strictly self-pay with payment due at the time of service. We do not participate with any insurance carrier. You are responsible for submitting claims to your insurance company. We can give you an invoice that you can use to submit the claim; contact your insurance carrier if you have questions. Their contact information is on the back of your card. Bear in mind that our procedures and the laboratory tests we order may not be covered by your insurance policy. Insurance coverage today is based upon disease-based reimbursable codes to justify the service or treatment. These disease-specific codes are usually not consistent with functional medicine assessment. We will provide you with a copy of our documentation of your visit.
What about Medicare?
We are not Medicare providers. We have chosen to be what is called an “opt-out” physician. Medicare will deny coverage for any services we provide, even if you send a claim with appropriate documentation.
What are your rates?
PRICING
General Consultations – $175 per 25 minute increments.
Functional Medicine Consultation $1,500
This includes the entire consultation as described here, estimated at 8+ hours of professional time.
Laboratory testing – costs vary per person: $1,000 – $3,500, on average.
We use cutting edge technologies and tests, based on your specific needs. We’re happy to discuss the costs of labs with you.
Follow-up consultations – 3 and 6 month $350
Other subsequent visits – 50 minutes $350
– 25 minutes $175
Osteopathic medicine
– Initial visit, 50 minutes; repeat visits, 25 minutes
– History and structural assessment
– Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT)
– Cost: $175 per 25 minute increments
Direct Primary Care (DPC) – see DPC explanation at www.NEDPCA.com
* Our DPC patient panel is full, ask to be put on waiting list.
– Our primary care is limited by being unavailable as we are a part-time practice
– Cost: $105 per month, unlimited visits
Addiction Medicine
– We have years of experience managing Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)
– Accepting any new patients is limited to availability in the schedule.
– Cost: Initial intake: $200; follow-up visits: $100
What are your financial policies?
Payment is due at the time of service. We do no billing; we do not maintain any balance on your account. Acceptable payment can be by cash, check, credit card, debit card. Payments will need to clear before we render any further service to you. If you pay by check and the check is refused by your bank, there will be a $50.00 charge and the payment will need to be cleared before we can continue any service to you.
What is your cancellation policy?
It is inevitable that at times someone, including us, cannot keep his/her appointment due to emergencies or other unexpected obligation to family or work. Each of us has the responsibility to notify the other if we are unable to show up.
If the appointment is for an Initial Functional Medicine Intake, we require at least a 2 day notice. The initial consultation requires a fair amount of work on our part to prepare for our meeting. If you cancel less than 48 hours, or in the event of your not showing up, there will be a fee of $175.00. For Functional Medicine follow-up visits, we require at least 24 hours’ notice; the fee for failure to notify us is $125.00.
For other services, Osteopathic, Primary Care, Addiction Care, we require at least 24 hour notice of cancellation; the fee for failure to notify us is $125.00.