FON: THE BUSINESS OF INTEGRATIVE HEALTH & MEDICINE

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

Bag of soybeans illustrating a commodity

Is Functional Medicine Becoming a Commodity?

A commodity is defined as any “basic” good or service that is produced to meet a marketplace demand. Commodities are, well, commonplace—interchangeable, and indistinguishable from other products or services of the same type. Functional medicine should never be considered indistinguishable; widely accessible? Yes. Indistinguishable? No. I am deeply concerned that certain functional medicine enterprises are in danger of becoming a commodity. Let me be clear: I am a staunch proponent

episodes of care, image of the cover of the pdf book on "episodes of care"

A Practical Guide to ‘Episodes of Care Clinical Programs’

This guide is intended to provide value while you explore the potential benefits of episodes of care programs as it relates to your unique practice, medical center, or hospital. Episodes of care programs refer to a specific period during which a patient receives clinical and educational services and support for a particular health condition or illness. These programs utilize a patient-centered, collaborative approach, and incorporate a range of clinical interventions

Integrative Health Brand, image of blog title "Your Integrative Health Brand, and Platform - Invest or Fail" over a football field.

Your Integrative Health Brand and Platform: Invest or Fail

Whether you mainly trade on your personal brand or lead an organization, sustainable success is wholly dependent on relationships. It’s based on your reputation in the market, and how you make people feel. Your processes, sales-savvy, or technological prowess alone will not guarantee your success; if you solely rely on tools and process, your empty enterprise will ultimately fail. Don’t get me wrong: your systems and processes are important. So

The Power of Effective Copywriting to Engage and Sell

Is your own copywriting hurting your integrative health brand? I write quite a bit: for this blog and my personal blog. I regularly craft comprehensive assessments and business development strategy documents for clients, and I’ve authored a memoir. Everyone looking to be a thought leader (aka key opinion leader or KOL) in the integrative health field—or wanting to be well-positioned within their local community—should write. I discuss this here and

Integrative Health Business Development: Assess First, then Strategize & Execute

The engagement process through which I lead companies, regardless of their size and type, is always the same: Assess, Strategize, Execute. This essential process need not be all that complicated when you carefully peel back the layers and conduct a review in an organized, comprehensive manner. The Assessment exercise is key, allowing transition from a disordered entity to a logical, clearly defined framework; often, in relatively short order. Whether you

Integrative Oncology Breast Cancer Clinical Practice Guidelines Published in JNCI Monographs

The Society for Integrative Oncology has published a first-of-its kind breast cancer clinical practice guidelines in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs coinciding with the 11th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology held this week in Houston, Texas. With over 80% of breast cancer patients using some form of integrative cancer therapy following diagnose, these timely guidelines will bring much needed clarity and support to women

The Pebble in the Pond: How Integrative Leadership Can Bring About Transformation

The ascent of integrative health is moving apace. The hit-or-miss presence of yoga or massage that might be found in a hospital during the last 15 years has evolved into what looks like transformative, existential investments by serious centers of American healthcare. [FON thanks the Bravewell Collaborative for the rights to distribute “The Pebble in the Pond: How Integrative Leadership Can Bring About Transformation.” Access the 44-page paper.] When the

Cleveland Clinic Partners with Dr. Mark Hyman and IFM to Launch Pioneering Functional Medicine Center

On September 15, 2014, an article in Crain’s Cleveland Business propelled news of the program nationally. The moved by the highly-regarded Cleveland Clinic is not merely a dabbling into the field but a full partnership with IFM, according to the release from the Cleveland Clinic. IFM’s chief medical officer, Patrick Hanaway, MD will be on the ground in Cleveland with author Hyman also serving in leadership. The Crain’s article notes