Functional Medicine vs. Concierge Medicine: Why Functional Medicine is the Better Choice for Health Optimization
At InHealthRVA, we believe healthcare should be more than a quick fix or a stopgap to bandaid symptoms and diseases. It should support you to thrive—not just survive or manage established health issues.
A concierge medical model and InHealthRVA”s Functional and Integrative healthcare model are vast improvements on today’s disease-care health system with quick appointments, little relationship with your provider, and dividing your body and symptoms between different health care providers. There is nothing more personal than your health, and your relationship with your health care provider should reflect this. However, there are key differences between concierge and Functional/Integrative medical models. Let’s dive into what they have in common, how they differ, and which one is best for you.
Both concierge and Functional medicine offer better access, a better relationship with and more time with your practitioner. But concierge medicine care is still just conventional medicine (pharmaceuticals and disease or symptom management), while InHealthRVA’s Functional & Integrative clinic seeks to optimize your wellness, not just address established symptoms.
We do this through an investigative, root cause approach to your health needs, goals and conditions. We work with you on a health journey that combines the best of scientifically based holistic & natural medicine, more advanced testing, mind-body support, herbs and pharmaceutical and conventional medical options.
If you’re ready to explore what thriving could look like for you, let’s break down why Functional medicine is the forward-thinking choice for optimal health.
Understanding Functional Medicine: Going Beyond Symptoms to the Root Cause
Functional medicine is more than just a different way of practicing healthcare—it’s a mindset shift. Instead of focusing on short-term symptom relief, Functional medicine dives into the latest physiology research and personalized diagnostic testing to understand the why behind your health concerns and to create holistic solutions, blending the best of natural medicine, conventional medicine and modern Functional medicine science and protocols.
At its core, Functional medicine recognizes that you’re more than a collection of symptoms or lab results. It looks at the whole picture: your genetics, lifestyle, environment and the mind-body connection. A good Functional medicine practitioner understands that your body systems and symptoms are part of an integrated whole, and creates a treatment plan and journey towards true health, not just symptom management that gets divided between specialists.
Why Functional Medicine Stands Apart
Root-Cause Focus: Functional medicine asks, Why is this happening? We seek to uncover the combination of variables driving your health concerns, including gut health, hormones, cellular health, inflammation and stress. The goal is to uncover what is driving your health concerns and to support your full wellness.
Personalized Plans for You: Functional medicine utilizes advanced labs that go beyond routine testing: identifying nutrient deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, microbiome issues and more. With these insights, we craft personalized strategies—integrating lifestyle, nutraceuticals, herbs, and pharmaceuticals—to meet your unique goals.
Compassionate, Whole-Person Care: We understand that your health history matters. It’s not just about fixing numbers on a lab sheet; it’s about optimizing your health in ways that align with your life.
What Is Concierge Medicine? Personalized Care with a Conventional Lens
Concierge medicine steps up where conventional care often falls short. At its core, you could think of it as restoring how doctors used to be able to practice: longer appointments, a deeper relationship with your practitioner and improved access.
While concierge care is much better care, it is still conventional medicine, offering pharmaceuticals, referrals out and surgical interventions for established conditions. It is not holistic, Integrative or Functional medicine and so does not investigate why the body has health imbalances and how to optimize health.
Concierge medicine is 20th century medicine, while Functional & Integrative medicine is 21st century understanding of health and human physiology.
Concierge medicine is better access, but is still “disease-care.”
Functional & Integrative medicine is better access + better health care.
Comparing Functional Medicine and Concierge Medicine: Thrive vs. Survive
Advanced Diagnostics
Functional medicine goes beyond surface-level tests to uncover what’s really going on. Think nutrient levels, metabolic pathways, hormone balance, and gut microbiome diversity—all areas that can profoundly impact your health but often go unnoticed in routine care. We come up with health plans and walk with you through the investigative journey towards discovery wellness.
Concierge medicine typically relies on standard diagnostics like cholesterol panels and blood pressure checks. While important, these tests often miss numerous other areas of health that could hold the key to your wellness.
Both Functional and concierge medicine refer you out to specialists, such as cardiologists and endocrinologists. Your Functional medicine practitioner will then in-house that information back into an integrative health plan to help you understand and consider their recommendations within the whole picture of your health.
Whole-Person Focus
Where conventional care treats symptoms in isolation, Functional medicine takes a systems-based approach. Your body isn’t a series of disconnected parts—it’s an interconnected system. For example, stress can affect gut health, and hormonal shifts can impact energy and mood. Functional medicine addresses these links, empowering your body to heal as a whole.
Concierge medicine focuses conventional analytics of labs to look for established diseases, such as high lipids and diabetes. Then prescribes medications to treat them. While they will do a much better job of talking you through it and following up, they aren’t trained to work with you to understand how to holistically manage and even resolve these health issues.
Preventative, Personalized Care
Functional medicine doesn’t wait for problems to become crises. By addressing potential risk factors early—before symptoms arise—it builds a foundation for long-term health. This proactive, preventative approach ensures you stay ahead of chronic conditions.
Concierge medicine, while offering personalized attention, often emphasizes managing existing conditions rather than optimizing future wellness.
Below is a side-by-side comparison to see how Functional and concierge medicine differ across essential aspects of care:
For Whom is Concierge Medicine Better?
Concierge medicine is better for those who have health conditions that require numerous medication management, require emergency contacts and care, coordination of many specialists and need or prefer 24/7 service.
While Functional & Integrative medicine can work to improve complex, chronic health conditions, it is not designed for 24/7 responses, emergency or urgent care. Resources are directed to holistic health care and wellness journey and don’t have the staff to coordinate specialists and be on call.
Concierge is also better for those who want a “white-glove service” experience.
Why doesn’t Functional medicine do it all? Both models require increased fees to allow practitioners to have the time and diligence to practice. The fees for concierge services go towards providing that 24/7 access and white-glove service. The fees for Functional & Integrative medical services go towards the holistic, root-cause health analysis and journey. While a clinic could conceivably offer both, the cost to sustain both would be unattainable for most people.
Why Functional Medicine Is the Future of Healthcare
The 20th century sought to conquer death by allowing us to survive disease. Concierge medicine allows doctors to do a better job at supplying that care.
21st century medicine works on the root-causes of health conditions and aims to optimize wellness, not just survive or manage disease.
At InHealthRVA’s Functional & Integrative medical clinic, we are leading this revolution by delivering the best of root-cause medicine and personalized care through combining the best of holistic and conventional medical offerings:
Advanced testing in areas such as the gut microbiome, cell health, inflammation, hormones, toxins and pathogens.
Lifestyle and mind-body medicine
Certified supplements, nutraceuticals and herbal remedies along with pharmaceutical and other conventional health care options.
More time, better access and a relationship with a practitioner who works with you towards your wellness goals.
This comprehensive approach is rooted in compassion, honoring your story, and starting wherever you are to help you achieve your unique health goals.
A Call to Thriving Health
At InHealthRVA, we know you believe everyone deserves the right to wholistic health. Whether you’re managing chronic health concerns, looking for more complete and personalized care or seeking to optimize your health and feel your best, Functional medicine offers the latest in modern understanding of human health, all in a more compassionate model.
Are you ready to move beyond surviving and start thriving? Let’s work together to create a personalized health plan that empowers your body, mind, and spirit. Reach out today—your journey to lasting wellness starts now.