FON: THE BUSINESS OF INTEGRATIVE HEALTH & MEDICINE

Beware of Medical Claims for COVID-19 and Natural Products: New Guidance from AANP

Worldwide, the age of COVID-19 has ushered in a plethora of medical claims concerning the use of natural products to prevent and/or treat the pathogen. Here in the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been clamping down on bad actors, and those well-intentioned but under-informed about the current, and sometimes opaque, rules of the road. Federal responses have been accelerated by a perniciously persistent pandemic that lacks an approved

Integrative Health Must Lead on COVID-19 and Immune Resiliency

OVID-19 has ripped the scab off health inequity in the U.S., exposing highly variable levels of healthcare access. It’s a way of life, an existence for too many, in an environment that systematically promotes weakened immune resiliency, thus affecting the collective human condition. This health (and economic) crisis will force a recalibration and rethinking of priorities. The critical question is before us: what should value-based disease prevention and health care

Guide to Integrative Healthcare Credentials & Certifications

It’s a veritable alphabet soup of acronyms and opportunities when it comes to the scores of continuing education and accreditations available for current and aspiring integrative health providers. A difficult decision-making process made even more challenging to pull together so many options. To address this void, the folks at Integrative Practitioner, led by editor Katherine Rushlau, have released a FREE 160-page guide to the multitude of integrative healthcare credentials and

Patients are Consumers: Ignoring this Fact is Futile

In a recent Medscape editorial, noted bioethicist Art Caplan, PhD remarked on a published commentary by Hastings scholars in Health Affairs titled ‘Patient-Centered Care, Yes; Patients As Consumers, No’. Medscape followed up on the assertions in the published commentary by polling its physician and nurse readers for feedback—results strongly evidenced agreement from those over 55 years old. Caplan, a renowned and influential bioethicist whose work I highly respect, especially in

Joe Biden’s So-Far Missed Opportunity to Impact Cancer

Given former vice president Joe Biden is currently atop the polls of democratic hopefuls in the hunt for the 2020 nomination, the announcement that the Biden Cancer Initiative (BCI) suspended operations—after a mere two years of existence—was no real surprise. According to bioethicist Arthur Caplan, it needed to shutter because a “Biden administration would give favorable treatment for anyone who supported his foundation in the past.” Let’s dig in and

The Rise of Integrative Health and Medicine, image of book cover.

The Rise of Integrative Health and Medicine—Milestones Continued: 2016—2018

In late 2016, FON and XYMOGEN released a 92-page publication titled The Rise of Integrative Health and Medicine—The Milestones: 1963—Present. The book is available free to access here. These milestones were largely culled from the work of Rise’s foreword author John Weeks, editor and publisher of The Integrator Blog and our industry’s de facto historian. Rise was written by Whole HealthEd founder and strategist Taylor Walsh. For the last several

Testimonials: How to Get them. How to Promote Them

Testimonials: How to get them. How to Promote them.

We live in the age of social proof, where the opinions of complete strangers can greatly impact our buying decisions. Why Testimonials are Essential Consumers trust the recommendations of their peers at a whopping 92%, and recommendations of strangers at 70%, according to Nielsen research. Given that testimonials significantly influence a prospective customer or patient’s proclivity for your brand, it is incumbent upon you to play an active role in

Textured background with text - 'Naming' Your Integrative or Functional Medicine Business

‘Naming’ Your Integrative Health or Functional Medicine Business

What’s in a name? Turns out, when it comes to your business, there’s a lot in a name; plenty is at stake. Properly naming your integrative medicine enterprise is critical to your success. Careful consideration must go into this decision-making as you develop the brand ethos of your organization and define your target customers. Get your brand name right from the very start. Following are some key areas to keep

We’re All in Sales: Advancing Integrative Health

Selling is the single most important skill to achieve effective personal and business goals. This has been true for millennia. You don’t have to be part of a formal sales team to be ‘in sales’. We are all in sales. Yes, including you. You just may not have realized it yet. Selling begins when a child asks her mother for a candy bar, and the mom says no. With each