Frequently Asked Questions
We’d love to be your partner along your journey towards vibrant health! Please review frequently asked questions listed below and feel free to contact our staff for any other questions via email or phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Functional medicine determines HOW and WHY a disease develops and attempts to restore health by addressing the ROOT CAUSES for each individual. I start by viewing your medical history and symptoms through a slightly different perspective than your conventional doctor. I organize your health story using the Functional Matrix, and this allows me to identify key areas of dysfunction and imbalance that can be corrected. Conventional medicine aims to categorize and label your symptoms as a diagnosis, in order to match it to a prescription or rehabilitative treatment. Functional medicine goes upstream to look for causes for your problems and diminish inflammatory influences in your body. My goal is simple: improve quality of life, diminish prescription burden, and teach you what you need to do to remain as healthy as possible.
Personalized Medicine is a form of medicine that uses advanced information to tailor a treatment plan that is specific for YOU. In conventional medicine, if someone comes in complaining of migraines they are usually given a pain reliever and told to come back if that does not work. However, the symptoms they are having are not due to a deficiency of ibuprofen, Tylenol or Imitrex. Migraines could be secondary to food sensitivities, poor sleep, increased stress, nutrient deficiencies, musculoskeletal dysfunction etc. A personalized medicine approach will look to discover what is causing YOUR migraine. At The Whole List Doc, we take a very detailed history and will likely ask you questions that you may have never been asked before by a healthcare provider. We also utilize advanced testing when needed to help better understand the biochemical makeup of your body and get to the root cause of disease rather than prescribing “band aid” medications to mask the downstream symptoms. This approach can often identify early signs of chronic disease which allows us to prevent or dramatically reduce your chances of developing the condition in the first place. What a concept!!
During your initial consultation, Dr. Khawaja will carefully review and discuss your medical history as well as perform any needed physical exams. If you are a good candidate for our services, Dr. Khawaja will discuss the necessary lab tests and schedule your follow-up appointments.
Dr. Khawaja’s initial training is in Internal Medicine; therefore, she typically sees patients 16 years or older. Never the less she has successfully taken care of toddlers and young kids also with the consent of their parents. She primarily uses Homeopathy to address their issues.
Yes, we can work with any person in any country.
Expect the consultation to last for 120 minutes. If you are a good candidate for our care we will go over the test kits and some paperwork to get you started. This will be an addition 30 minutes. We value your time and do our best to provide a timely service.
The initial consultation for Functional Medicine is $497.95 for 120 minutes.
The initial consultation for homeopathic only evaluation is $250 for 60 minutes.
We ask that you bring any pertinent medical records, supplements, medication and lab test results with you. If you are not the financial decision maker, we ask that you discuss the costs with the decision maker prior to the consultation.
Patients have unlimited email access with our The Whole List Doc provider team. However, if an email question or request is deemed by one of our staff to be too complicated or involved for a response via email they may, at their discretion, require that the patient schedule a phone, telemedicine or in person visit instead of responding via email.
This is a common question, and the answer is YES. Let’s look at some statistics: if you add up adverse prescription drug reactions, medical errors, surgical complications and hospital acquired infections from our conventional medical systems, it ends up being one of the top 3 causes of deaths in our country. In addition, research shows you are 60 thousand times more likely to die from a prescription drug than a food supplement and 7 thousand times more likely than herbal remedies. At The Whole List Doc, we take an Integrative Medicine approach which uses the best of both conventional and alternative medicine to get you on your path to wellness.
To get started, contact us for an appointment.
There is a 48-hour cancellation policy for all appointments with an The Whole List Doc doctor, health coach, or team member. Canceling in less than 48-hours will result in a $175 charge.
No-shows: If you do not show up to a phone, video/telemedicine or in person appointment without notifying the specific person you have an appointment with either via email or by changing the appointment using the online scheduling tool on the patient portal, you will be charged $175.
Yes, we do not provide primary care services and we do not replace the services that your current medical team provides (Annual check ups, FMLA etc). We provide a stand-alone service.
I help you clarify exactly which vitamins or supplements you need (or don’t need). While much of your treatment momentum can be gained with customized instructions on food sources and lifestyle changes, many people require temporary (or long term) supplementation based on their unique genetic limitations, digestion inefficiencies, or micronutrient deficiencies. In this case, I’ll provide you access to prescription quality supplements through my online store dispensary, where I have personally vetted companies that show the highest purity and 3rd party quality certification.
You should still budget $200-300 for the cost of supplements during the first few months of recovery. After graduation from the program you will be offered 10% off all supplements and IV products.
This program is for anyone looking to optimize their heath. The only time somebody is not qualified is if their health is too far-gone or their condition requires urgent medical attention. If a client is not motivated, engaged and willing to take the steps necessary to get healthy they would not be a good candidate.
- An all-inclusive service that covers your clinical consulting and coaching over a 8-month period
- An in-depth review of the 6 Whole-List-Ic Program pillars that make up your health
- A medical case review and personalized program that is built around your unique history and needs
- Up to 8 appointments
- Direct Clinician access in between appointments via email.
- Personalized lab result video summary and PDF of your lab work
- Personalized supplement schedule
- Personalized lifestyle schedule
- Program binder
- Meal planning, recipes, and menu
- Access to direct pricing on lab test kits which can save you up to 50-80% on testing
Yes. We recommend that your first appointment is done in person so we can meet with you and make sure we’re a good fit for each other. If that’s not possible, we can do your appointment on the phone or video conference so we can more be engaged and help you along the process.
Lab, Billing & Insurance
For many of our patients, we can take the place of a primary care physician. Because you can message us online during business hours, we are often able to take care of acute requests. For example, prescribing an antibiotic for a minor infection such as a sinus infection.
It is important to note the following however:
- We do not fulfill an insurance company’s requirement for an in network primary care physician as we are not in-network with any insurance plan.
- We are not available for same-day acute emergency appointments, please call 911 or your primary care doctor.
- We do not have a 24-hour answering service and do not take calls on weekends. If you need to be seen urgently or have a medical emergency you would need to visit an ER or urgent care center.
The cost of any services provided by The Whole List Doc which are not included in the episode of care fee will be billed to you directly.
Non-The Whole List Doc medical expenses such as lab tests and prescription medications may be covered by a member’s health insurance plan per that plan’s rules.
The Whole List Doc will not submit a medical claim to insurance on your behalf. We cannot assist you with claim resolution for our services.
We will provide you with a detailed billing summary that you may submit to your insurance for reimbursement. There may be procedures or lab tests that are not covered depending on your plan’s rules.
- Most lab tests ordered by a The Whole List Doc physician will be billed directly to your insurance by the lab.
- Some lab tests we offer as part of our functional medicine testing program may not be covered by insurance and in these cases you will be charged a fee for a particular test by the lab or through The Whole List Doc.
- The specific tests ordered will be personalized to you based on your initial evaluation with an The Whole List Doc doctor and may include blood saliva urine or stool testing.
- We will make every effort to make you fully aware of any additional lab fees that may be incurred and to give you the opportunity to choose which lab tests you feel comfortable paying for.
- You are under no obligation to purchase any specialty testing.
- Should any lab results indicate you may need further testing you will be directed to continue your care with your primary care physician or a relevant specialist, or should you choose you may continue to work with your The Whole List Doc physician.
- At home test kits: If a lab test kit is mailed to you by The Whole List Doc, you will be charged the day the kit is mailed.
- If your particular insurance company only pays for blood work done at a particular lab facility like LabCorp, you must inform us of this in advance of having blood work done. Most insurance plans cover labs done by major national labs – however, including Bioreference, which is a lab often used by The Whole List Doc Health because of their favorable pricing policies for patients.
We do not offer a-la-carte testing since this goes against the paradigm of functional medicine. If we are going to address the root cause of your health issues, we will need to take a more comprehensive approach and order multiple tests at the same time.
Functional lab testing is usually not covered by most insurance providers.
We accept, Cash, Visa or MasterCard. Discover card is also accepted for US patients only.
Yes. Please check with your HR department to be sure. And ask for their criteria for coverage.
Yes, we offer patient financing through AdvanceCare. Denefits, Flexxby.
No.
The Whole List Doc is an “insurance-free” zone! This gives the greatest liberty to choose your best path to wellness without the restraint of red tape. There’s no surprises, hidden costs, or worries about what might not be covered. All prices are transparent.
Our patients use their flex plan or HSA account to pay for services with me. I will provide a properly coded ICD-10 visit worksheet and itemized bill so you can submit this for reimbursement.
By joining our essentials program you have access to direct pricing on lab test kits, which ensure you pay the lowest price possible. On average, you should budget between $500-$1500 to max $2000/- for functional lab testing.
Our programs and functional lab testing are typically not covered by insurance. The insurance does not pay for the tests.
The lab testing is typically done at home. In some instances you might have to get blood work done. We will direct you to the lab that coordinates that. Many of the tests have shipping included in the cost of the kits. You will get instructions in more detail on how to do the test kits and the kits come with clear instructions as well. Payment is made directly to the lab to ensure you have the lowest price possible. There are some labs for which the physician gets discount, in which case you will be offered the discounted physician price.
Once we have gotten you to a stable place you can follow up as needed. If you require additional support after your essentials program is complete you have the option to pay per visit at a discounted rate of $175/- per hour for our Essentials Program Graduates only. Or you can continue to enroll into our yearly package billed monthly at $150/- per month or $1500/- per year if paid annually. You also qualify for 10% discount on all supplement orders.
The Annual TWLD Graduate Package provides you with unlimited email access to your clinician for continued health support; one monthly clinical visit ; and discounted testing prices. You also qualify for 10% discount on all supplement orders. If you need additional visits you will get discounted price of $175/- an hour
No, this is primarily because insurance does not accept us. Insurance companies would rather pay for multiple short visits that focus on pharmaceutical interventions than long, personalized visits that focus on root cause resolution of disease. By working directly for you and not the insurance company, we are able to give you the personalized care needed to move towards optimal health.
It is important to note that our members does NOT constitute insurance and does NOT satisfy the requirement by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to have an insurance plan. Members often save money by combining our services with high deductible plans. The high deductible plans serve as ‘wrap-around’ insurance for major events that might require procedures or hospitalization. The membership can take care of your everyday health needs including treating chronic medical conditions. This is similar to using car insurance to cover for big accidents, but paying out of pocket for the routine maintenance and upkeep.
5 Functional Medicine Myths Debunked
This is a phrase that we hear over and over on our complementary calls. Many patients feel like they’ve done everything that they can to get better. However, within a few short minutes it becomes clear that there are many stones still unturned. When a person submits to the thought of having “tried everything” they subconsciously submit to the idea that nothing more can be done.
Most people we speak to, have never had functional lab testing, an emotional analysis, or an assessment of their living space – all of which can be fundamental to the healing process. Chances are there are many aspects of your health that have not yet been fully explored.
As a physician myself by no means am I against mainstream medicine. Allopathic medicine operates out of a completely different paradigm than functional medicine. Allopathic medicine focuses on the name of the disease and implements a one-size-fits-all approach that centers around symptom management and pharmaceutical drugs. Most tests are pictorial- like a cardiac catheterization, CT scan, mammogram etc. This is fine for acute care or emergency interventions to help you feel better in a traumatic or life-threatening situation. However, in long-term chronic care circumstances, treating a disease through symptom management never leads to true healing and can often end up exacerbating the problem.
In stark contrast, functional medicine is more focused on uncovering the root causes of your health issues and providing a personalized plan to correct them and help you actually get better. We look at you at the cell level. We help coach up your adaptive physiology by treating the entire body as a whole, integrated unit that has the ability to self-heal once it is properly balanced and provided with the correct inputs. We also believe that there is a time and place for intelligent allopathy, and will recommend it accordingly if we feel it’s necessary.
We are all allotted the same amount of time in a day, and that time passes whether you’re healthy or sick. Few things are more wasteful than time spent managing an illness or disease. Think of all the hours spent online researching your illness or sitting in a doctor’s waiting room for a 15-minute visit. When you don’t feel well, you’re also less productive at work, and that can impact your finances – which leads to more time wasted spent worrying about your bottom line.
We believe that being healthy is one of the best ways to free up more time for you to do the things you enjoy the most with the people you love the most. In order to help you make the most of your time, we offer the option and convenience of telephone and recorded video consultations to provide you with clear, concise directions on how to finally take control of your health and your life. The next 24 hours are going to pass regardless of what you do. Why not spend them pursuing better health?
This is the biggest misconception about functional medicine – primarily because we’ve been conditioned to expect insurance to pay for everything. In doing so, we have unwittingly ceded control of our wellness over to the lowest bidder – at the expense of our own health. In reality, functional medicine is the most affordable form of healthcare on the planet, especially when you consider that the average person spends more money in their lifetime in the allopathic model managing a disease or illness without ever truly healing.
Thankfully, some forward-thinking insurance companies and governments are now running pilot-projects to demonstrate the significant cost savings to both patients and healthcare systems using a functional medicine model, while at the same time helping participants achieve increased positive health outcomes.
Sometimes the true cost of services being rendered isn’t just measured in dollars and cents, and just because something is covered by your insurance company does not make it cheaper. We’re proud of the fact that the average Whole List Doc autoimmune patient saves over thousands of dollars each year in medical expenses, while at the same time learning a liberating life skill that can be taught to their own children and loved ones. When choosing a healthcare provider, it’s important to look beyond the cost of something, and instead consider it’s value. In this manner, functional medicine wins every time.
We live in the era of information, and the entirety of the world’s knowledge is available at your fingertips. Yet the most valuable information you need for true healing is the knowledge of what’s going on inside your body, and until now you weren’t allowed to access this information without the permission of your doctor or insurance company. The Whole List Doc team is trained to ask you the right questions and order the right lab testing to provide you with a deeper insight into your personal health challenges and how to overcome them.
Functional lab testing clues you into information that you or your doctor would never know otherwise. Our goal when partnering with you is to help identify the root cause of your health problems, teach you the appropriate life skills you need to remedy them, and support you as needed. Self-navigating through the sea of conflicting information ends up costing you both your health and your sanity. We don’t recommend it.