FON: THE BUSINESS OF INTEGRATIVE HEALTH & MEDICINE

Ship charting new terrain, sun rising

Out of Crises Comes Opportunity: Will You Seize It?

You are sitting in your virtual boardroom, clinical space, or manufacturing plant, contemplating the future. In addition to us all doing our personal and professional best to lift our communities above crisis, we attend online sessions, keep up with a torrent of emails, and consider the troubling question about our economic future. Solely on that subject, one thing is clear: out of crises profound business opportunity is often born. This

Image of blog title with a motorcycle driving on the freeway.

Social Media’s Free Ride Is Over: Challenges and Opportunities

As an Integrative health organization that has invested significant time and resources building audiences on social media, you are now faced with a stark reality: You do not own your profiles… nor your followers, likes, and subscribers; you simply rent them. The rules of engagement are beyond your control. The social media ‘organic reach’ free ride is officially over. It has been for a while—ever since Facebook pulled in the

Lifestyle Medicine’s Indisputable Foundation of Health and Access

Lifestyle Medicine’s Indisputable Foundation of Health and Access

I’ve been professionally engaged with the integrative health and medicine field for the better part of a decade and, as a 28-year cancer ‘thriver’ of a so-called incurable malignancy, I’ve watched this movement up close and personal half my life. Through FON, I’ve consulted hundreds of clinics, businesses, and organizations; participated in chronicling The Rise of Integrative Medicine; and written on the various names and nomenclature—and the numerous tents that

Time to Rethink Your Practice Business Model

When COVID hit, many practices and practitioners were already stuck in a routine; the pandemic simply amplified it. Businesses were abruptly turned on their heads because of their reliance on a care delivery and practice business model that was no longer viable. What followed was a rapid transition to telemedicine to ensure continuity of care—and continuity of income—and the realization that not many practices were nimble enough or otherwise positioned

Thinking of Converting to Concierge? Don’t Give Away Your Practice

You started your practice with a mix of capital, sweat, excitement, and risk. You knew you were a skilled clinician and placed faith in your business acumen and those advising you. You believed you would soon be serving patients and earning enough to make a comfortable living that would also support a good life/work balance contributing to a good quality of life—and, one day, a comfortable retirement. As you operated

No Magic Formula to Grow Integrative Health Companies: Start Here Instead

Whether your business is a medical practice, supplement company, pharmacy, technology platform, nonprofit organization, or provider of other goods or services, one thing holds true: there is no single, magic bullet formula to grow your integrative or functional medicine enterprise. Word-of-mouth referrals and the activation of fanatical brand-ambassadors remain the holy grail of any organization. The above is absolute for integrative and functional medicine enterprises. But how does this low-spend,

Leveraging Medical Savings Accounts for Integrative Health Products and Services

You possess a powerful tool to enhance your business and expand your influence and goodwill for the good of your patients and customers. It’s called a medical savings account. Are you leveraging this tax-deferred tool? I have always wondered why integrative healthcare practices and businesses aren’t savvier at promoting the economic attributes of health savings accounts (HSA) and flexible savings accounts (FSA) to their current, and prospective, patients and customers.

The Integrative Health Business: ‘Administrators’ Versus ‘Builders’

I often see integrative and functional medicine business and organization leaders smothered from the weight of managing day-to-day operations: process and repetitive tasks allow neither adequate time nor sufficient resources to deal with strategic business development and execution. Rare are the super-competent administrators or business owners who are as savvy and productive in the areas of business development and growth as they are at keeping the ship moving… from a

Arrow on 'Pricing' Target

Establishing Prices for Integrative Health Products and Services

As an integrative functional medicine business owner or executive, you may serve a local, national, international clientele, or a group of constituents comprised of varying demographics and psychographics. So how do you best decide fair market value for what you offer? Determining Pricing for Products and Services If you are a physician who has opted out of commercial insurance and Medicare, you may charge for each patient encounter; or offer