Does Rob Prescribe Medications?
If necessary and the patient is willing. In addition to using food as medicine and implementing lifestyle modifications, Rob uses the highest quality professional grade supplements, herbs and vitamins available to correct imbalances, treat therapeutically and support the body's internal healing mechanisms. However, there are times when prescription strength medications may be beneficial or needed either temporarily or for the long term. Such medications may include bio-identical hormone therapy, thyroid replacement, etc. Rob works with you hand-in-hand to develop a treatment plan that you are comfortable with. Prescribing medications is only applicable for those residing in Oklahoma. For Rob’s consulting clients and clients conducting programs, an all natural approach to optimizing health is implemented.
will Lab Work be ordered?
Rob utilizes conventional lab testing as well as cutting edge Functional Medicine lab testing to discover the root causes of your health concerns. New patients or clients will be asked to send in any lab work or other testing that has been conducted within the last 12 months for Rob to review.
Will Rob BE MY PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER (pcp)?
Short answer, no. Rob is trained in primary care as a board certified family nurse practitioner and can legally be your PCP in Oklahoma. However, Rob's passion is in Functional & Integrative Medicine, nutrition and preventative care. Therefore, he advises that you keep your primary care provider for routine screening exams like pap smears and prostate exams, vaccinations and acute care services. If you are an established patient and and want a natural and holistic approach for an acute ailment such as a cold, sore throat etc, Rob will be happy to help in those situations via scheduled appointment or pro-rated phone consult.
Does Rob treat children?
Yes, Rob treats children from 12 years old and up.
Does Thrive medical Accept medical insurance?
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept any form of medical insurance, medicare or medicaid and we do not fill out any insurance paperwork on the patient's behalf. See reasons below.
why does Thrive Medical not accept insurance?
Rob is committed to the Functional Medicine model of care that addresses the whole person, searches for the underlying causes of your symptoms and constructs a highly individualized plan of care. This type of healthcare takes more time and requires a different approach that would not be attainable in the insurance based model of care.
When clinics bill insurance companies directly, the clinician must agree to become a participating provider and sign a contract with the insurance company. The clinician must agree to accept the fees covered by the insurance company regardless of whether the fees are reasonable or applicable to the practice. Insurance companies are generally heavily invested in the conventional model of care that relies on brief visits, medications and surgery, as opposed to preventative care and wellness services. It would be impossible for Rob to give his patients the time and care he feels is needed if he were to participate in the insurance based model of care.
Clinics typically overcome the low reimbursements from insurance companies by seeing anywhere from 20-40 patients per provider per day to cover the running costs of the clinic. Because of this, these visits typically focus more on managing symptoms as it is impossible to address the whole person, including history, lifestyle and nutrition when the appointment only lasts 5-15 minutes. This model of care would simply not work at Thrive Medical. Rob sees all new patients for 90 minutes to 2 hours for their initial appointment and follow-up appointments are scheduled for either 30 minutes, 1 hour or 90 minutes. This assures that patients get the time and attention they need to get well and stay well.
will my insurance pay for the labs?
Your insurance company may cover some if not all of the conventional lab tests ordered, such as thyroid panels, lipid panels CMP, CBC etc. However, we make no guarantees, and you would have to discuss with your insurance provider.
Functional medicine/specialty tests such as stool tests, advanced hormone and adrenal testing, toxic metal testing etc will not be covered by insurance. However, we are able to offer these lab tests at lower rates, sometimes significantly lower than the prices listed by the lab company.
*Please note that testing is not mandatory. Rob will offer his professional opinion on lab testing, but ultimately you decide what you can and can't afford to pay. Rob does not order any unnecessary lab testing and will work with you to determine a plan of care that is right for you and your individual situation.
How much Does it cost?
This will depend on the complexity of your case and other variables. Since functional medicine is such an individualized field of care, we offer the Initial Case Review to give you an opportunity to speak with Rob one on one. No two health journeys are the same, nor are the care plans that are created.
After the Initial Case Review, you will be presented with proposed treatment options. You will have ample time to review the information outside of the consult before deciding to proceed with a concierge care-plan or individual appointments moving forward.
The cost of the Initial Case Review is $187.00. See link below for more information.
what forms of payments does thrive medical accept?
Thrive Medical accepts cash, check and credit card. Wire transfer also available for care plans if requested. Thrive Medical also accepts flexible spending account (FSA) & Health Savings Account (HSA) cards. The FSA & HSA cards can also cover labs and supplements that are part of your treatment plan. However, you would want to confirm with your FSA or HSA company first.
We can NOT accept Care Credit.
We do NOT accept American Express.
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