Our Ideal Patient
Whenever we are meeting with new professional contacts to expand our network, we often get the question “who’s your ideal patient?”. People ask this for two reasons – one to get a sense of who you enjoy working with and two so they understand who might be a good referral to you.
We are not typical in the sense that we do not run off of productivity. We do not want our schedules jam packed. We are not trying to reach a thousand patient panel like typical medical offices. We desire a small number of like minded and aligned patients! Makes sense, right?
Dr. Andrew Weil, the father of integrative medicine, said one time in a lecture that sometimes the most therapeutic part of what we do as physicians, PAs, and NPs, lies in the relationship between clinician and patient. Fostering this is so important to us, because it helps us know when something is awry in your presentation, and we develop a 2 way street of trust.
Listed below are qualities of an ideal patient, and qualities of patients who are likely not a great fit for our office.
Ideal Patient
- Looks forward to a partnership.
- Someone who has not had success in a traditional medical model, and is looking for something different.
- Respects and values time and access to their PA.
- Understands there is a balance between lifestyle interventions, holistic remedies, and pharmaceutical agents. In other words – is not closed off to lifestyle recommendations, supplementation, prescription medications or vaccinations.
- Values evidenced based practice which is equal parts evidence/research, clinical experience, and patient preference.
- Remains open and curious in conversation.
- Willingness to put in work for self discovery – it’s okay if you don’t know what you want, or don’t know how to get there, but you value the journey!
- Openness to trying a few different paths before we find the right one – we don’t have all the answers! The art of medicine involves some trial, error, collaboration and coordination.
Not a Good Fit
- Values using insurance for their care particularly with professional services like ours and lab work.
- Expects their provider to know everything. We pride ourselves in staying within our scope of practice!
- Unwillingness to put in the effort for true wellness, and instead looking for a “quick fix”.
- Does not value a referral, or does not think a referral is part of a treatment plan.
- Is dishonest.
- Doesn’t feel like they align with the characteristics of an ideal patient (see above).
If you have questions on whether we are a good fit for you, and you are a good fit for us, book a discovery call!
