Cornerstone Health Community (CHC) offers a special approach to healthcare providing the hard to find combination of functional medicine and primary care within the same office. It is this unique blend that initially drew me (Kyla Conway, PA-C) to CHC. With a background in family practice, I had heard of the term functional medicine but had never had the opportunity to practice under a functional medicine doctor. Within the traditional framework, testing, imaging, and specialist referrals are often unable to find solutions to primary care health concerns. Functional medicine provides a different approach to chronic health issues by thinking of the patient as a whole, and working to correct the root cause of the problem. As an avid learner, it has been exciting to be able to offer patients additional resources through this new perspective, ultimately enabling patients to heal in ways traditional medicine has been unable to achieve. That being said, my passion still lies in primary care.
Primary care, sometimes referred to as family medicine or general practice, differs from functional medicine in a few areas. While functional medicine focuses on root issues to solve complex and chronic health concerns, primary care targets preventative health such as discussing screening guidelines for bone scans, mammograms, and colonoscopies to prevent health issues in the future. Primary care also encompasses annual wellness visits, sports physicals, acute and chronic conditions, sick visits, office procedures, women’s health, pediatric care, and referrals when necessary.
Not everyone who comes into our office needs a complete health transformation as many patients are relatively healthy with an isolated issue or a particular need. These patients benefit from the blending of primary care and functional medicine. When possible we work with the patient to decide if lifestyle changes would be a more appropriate option to start with versus the traditional prescriptive medical treatment model. Prescriptive treatment is utilized when indicated and when lifestyle modifications alone are insufficient.
The blending of functional medicine with primary care is not one you see often, but provides an incredible benefit to patients. Patients who are working with Dr. Mote on a comprehensive health plan through functional medicine can still get sick, need a physical, have an injury or have other primary care needs. This is when collaboration between providers can be extremely valuable for the patient by providing a comprehensive approach to healthcare. On the other side, when I see a primary care patient who would benefit from a complete health transformation, I am able to explain the reasoning and refer the patient to Dr. Mote for further care when necessary.
At Cornerstone Health Community we believe functional medicine, primary, and urgent care are all important in improving the health of our patients. This combination allows CHC to provide comprehensive care by navigating a variety of medical paradigms, giving us all the information and avenues possible to empower each patient to achieve their ultimate health.
