Evolution of Medicine Podcast

Dan Strause is the president and CEO of Hometown Pharmacy, which is a network of 70 independent functional pharmacies across Wisconsin and Upper Michigan that deliver patient-focused care. The Hometown Pharmacy group seeks to connect prescribing clinicians with pharmacists to collaborate and achieve the goal of moving patients from pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals to food. They see a critical need for pharmacists to reconnect and work with prescribing clinicians, especially to mitigate or address drug-induced nutrient deficiencies. Building relationships between patients, prescribing clinicians and pharmacists often starts with patients asking questions and engaging with their health care. Thus, the functional pharmacy approach involves empowering and inspiring patients through health education. Listen to this full conversation to learn from Dan about the many innovative strategies the group incorporates, including:  Sending dieticians and nutritionists to speak within communities about functional pharmacies to educate and inspire at a grassroots level A test-teach-therapy-test approach with patients Using scientific literature and dialog to build relationships with like-minded clinicians  Learning how to best work with patients to foster adherence And much, much more! Dan Strause is a keynote speaker at the upcoming Functional Pharmacy Symposium on September 23 in Nashville, TN. He will be joined by other former Functional Forum and Evolution of Medicine podcast guests, such as James LaValle, RPh; Thomas G. Guilliams, PhD; Mark Houston, MD; and Jeff Robins, RPh. Register to attend the conference to learn more functional medicine best practices that will support the future success of your pharmacy.

Our guest this week on the podcast is Robert Pearl, MD, a lifestyle medicine champion and leader. He is the former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (1999-2017), the largest United States medical group, and the former president of The Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group (2009-2017). In those two roles, he led 10,000 physicians and 38,000 staff. Currently, he cohosts a podcast and is an author, clinical professor, contributor to Forbes, and speaker. In this podcast episode, we discussed the economics of health care and different payment models that can support preventative care and lifestyle medicine. Dr. Pearl laid out his perspective on the issues with fee-for-service payment models—mainly that it incentivizes disease treatment rather than prevention. He proposed an alternative model known as capitation, which is the model Kaiser Permanente uses. Capitation pays a group of doctors an established, upfront fee to fulfill medical needs for a defined population of patients.  Listen to this fascinating conversation to learn more about the following: Capitation versus fee-for-service models Dr. Pearl’s vision for how clinicians can contribute to building an alternative market for lifestyle medicine The role of artificial intelligence in supporting patient education, compliance and outcomes Using telemedicine and groups to make lifestyle medicine more economical And much more!

Izabella Wentz, PharmD is an author and pharmacist who previously spoke on the Functional Forum and specializes in helping patients overcome thyroid dysfunction. In this episode, she joins James to talk about her personal journey with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis after years of debilitating symptoms. Her most recent book, Adrenal Transformation Protocol, was released on April 18, 2023. The book focuses on resetting the body’s stress response through targeted safety signals, and it features a four-week program that has already helped over 3,500 people.  Dr. Wentz is also an advocate for spreading awareness about how thyroid dysfunction can produce psychiatric symptoms, which is often overlooked by conventional health care providers. Check out the full episode to learn more about: The stigma around the term “adrenal fatigue”    Dr. Wentz’ experience addressing adverse drug events and drug-induced nutrient depletion The mental health and adrenal connection Options for supporting patients with thyroid dysfunction How to help your patients achieve lifestyle changes And much, much more!

Dr. Carrie Jones rejoins the Evolution of Medicine podcast to discuss the functional medicine approach to depression, anxiety and attention issues. She is an avid educator who specializes in stress and endocrine health. A recent systematic review found that the serotonin theory of depression is scientifically unsupported,  which raises the question: What does this mean for patients who use either SSRIs or SNRIs? Dr. Jones explains how she answers this for concerned patients and discusses her approach to resolving mood issues by looking for root causes. Other topics discussed in this conversation include rising mental health issues amongst teenagers in particular, group care, and mental health lifestyle factors, such as balancing neurotransmitters, stress management, social connection, nutrition, gut health and physical activity. Tune in and listen to the whole conversation to learn about the following from Dr. Jones: Examples of how blood sugar dysregulation can harm sleep quality and mental health Problems that can arise when supporting only one neurotransmitter Specific nutrients she uses for patients with mood dysregulation The potential for technology, especially continuous glucose monitors, to empower patients in their health journeys And much, much more!  

Kristen Brokaw hosts this episode which features Andy Sutton, CEO of Kare Health & Wellness.  Andy and his wife, Keri Sutton, cofounded and grew a successful integrative health center. Andy’s background is in architecture as a project manager, and his wife is a nurse practitioner who serves as the chief medical officer of Kare Health & Wellness. At the clinic, Andy also oversees marketing, new staff hires and training. Their clinic prioritizes developing and nurturing a strong culture amongst staff. Andy believes his staff’s cohesiveness and shared values has a downstream effect of benefiting patients and allowing their business to be more efficient, which is one of the keys to their success. This episode belongs to the Evolution of Medicine’s Business of Functional Medicine series. Once a quarter, we bring you conversations that focus on the business and practice management side of functional medicine.  Check out the full recording to learn more about Andy’s approach to the following:        Developing a standardized staff training program        Staff hiring and fostering a team culture        Leveraging emotional appeal to acquire and retain patients        New patient onboarding        And much, much more!

Guest:  Amanda Wilson, MD, CEO, Founder In this episode, we learned about emerging, research-based treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) that pair well with functional medicine values.  Traditional 12-step programs have startlingly low success rates (8% for Alcoholics Anonymous) and teach some principles that are not supported by scientific literature—for example, that patients must abstain and avoid exposure indefinitely to stay in recovery.   James’ guest, Amanda Wilson, MD, is an addiction physician who cofounded NorthStar Care, an alcohol treatment center that approaches AUD as a medical issue and offers a year-long, physician-monitored, at-home program. They incorporate functional medicine elements, including nutrition therapy, genomics for personalized medication selection, social support groups, and several technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and wearables.  NorthStar Care is partnering with a company developing a wearable device to continuously track not only blood alcohol levels but also glucose and sleep patterns. For their peer support group meetings, they use VR headsets so patients can participate remotely using anonymous avatars, virtual backgrounds and even voice changers for privacy.  Download and listen to the full conversation to learn about: A genetic factor that makes naltrexone ineffective for a portion of the population The shortcomings of rapid-detox, inpatient rehabilitation and 12-step programs The importance of medical support throughout the recovery process The benefits of using VR for peer support networks And much more!

Adrian den Boer, DC, ND joins the podcast this week to share his clinical success with collagen. As a functional medicine practitioner with extensive experience in naturopathic and chiropractic care, Dr. den Boer is just the person we needed to speak with to learn about the benefits of collagen for the musculoskeletal system.   Tune into this episode to hear his astounding success stories, including one that did not even seem possible, according to his medical school training. He also provided clinical pearls that will help you achieve the best outcomes and improve compliance when using collagen with your patients. Listen to the full episode to learn:         How collagen helps athletes recover from injury         Benefits of collagen for the aging musculoskeletal system         How Dr. den Boer’s highly successful practice got started, and why he is passionate about quality testing for supplements         Issues and risks with using bone broth in place of collagen supplements         And much, much more!

Functional Forum Local Communities connect like-minded practitioners, enabling dialog, information sharing, interdisciplinary discussion, and community building for those who attend. In this episode we hear from a Functional Forum Community host and a loyal attendee. Kristen Brokaw, this week’s host, is the leader of Saint Louis’ local Forum Community, and founder of the St. Louis Institute for Integrative Medicine (SLIIM). Guest Grant Corsi is the Community Host of the Orange County Functional Forum Community.  He shares his story about what drove him to begin planning community events and what has made his community successful. Our second guest is Anthony Pasek, DC who has been attending St. Louis Forum Community events for at least seven years. He speaks to the value of his community, including professional camaraderie and collaboration. Listen to this short episode to learn: ·       Valuable tips for initiating community meetups ·       Why you should consider hosting your own local Community ·       What challenges to expect, and how to prepare for them as a new host ·        The benefits of attending local community events for physicians ·       And much, much more. Help us honor this year’s theme of Connection by sharing this episode and consider joining or hosting a local Forum Community near you. Find a community near you. Host a community. Request a community.  

“Everyone needs a good coach in life,” according to our podcast guest this week. For this Business of Functional Medicine episode, Kristen Brokaw interviewed Coach Micheal Burt to explore his perspective on becoming and staying motivated. He applies the term prey drive—the instinctual motivation of certain animals to find, pursue and capture prey—to human behavior and motivation. Coach Burt began his career as a basketball coach and is now an author, speaker and professional coach for multiple industries. He has clients who are the most successful preventative doctors and functional health care providers in the country. Check out this full episode to take in empowering messages about: Every individuals’ potential to express a strong prey drive The parts of oneself that may need to be supported (body, mind, heart and spirit) How to foster motivation on a daily basis The importance of building and maintaining dynamic energy in business Business coaching for preventative and functional medicine providers And much, much more! Visit his website to learn more about activating the drive to pursue your goals.

On this episode of the podcast, James is joined by two doctors from the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) to learn about their upcoming annual conference from June 1-3 in Orlando, FL. Aly Cohen, MD is an integrative rheumatologist who speaks about the importance of environmental medicine and why autoimmunity needs to be understood by providers across medical specialties. Dan Lukaczer, ND is the Director of Medical Education at IFM. He was previously Director of Clinical Research at the Metagenics Functional Medicine Research Center in Gig Harbor, WA, where he served as the principal investigator on various clinical trials on diet and nutrition. This event will be the first in-person IFM event since 2019 and will not be limited to any one topic or health issue. Instead, they offer an agenda featuring a wide range of subject matter. Consider registering for the IFM conference to learn more about: ·       Contaminants in drinking water—from artificial turf, fluoride and more ·       Data about environmental chemicals and how they contribute to human health conditions, specifically diseases of the immune system ·       Dietary approaches and lifestyle changes to reduce toxicity ·       Functional medicine approaches to oncology and cancer care ·       Understanding mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) ·       Innovative treatment options for mental health care ·       Updates on the microbiome, oral microbiome and systemic disease ·       Impacts of intermittent thermal stress on aging and longevity ·       Therapeutic applications of medical cannabis and endocannabinoids ·       Wearable devices and the unlocked potential of remote health monitoring ·       And much more!