Why Do M.D.s Close Their Family Practices to Become Functional Medicine Doctors?

    SCARBOROUGH, ME, December 07, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Robert Sholl, M.D. is a medical doctor in Maine who owned a busy family practice for over 35 years. The practice is now closed.

Dr. Sholl decided that the business model for helping his patients no longer served his patient's needs because he simply wanted to spend more time with each patient, really listening to their health stories, and spending more time explaining optimal health choices.

After reviewing options that would allow him to spend more time with his patients, Dr. Sholl made a decision to close the primary care office of Wellspring Health Center, and open a new clinic as a Functional Medicine doctor (see www.FunctionalMedicineMaine.com). The new clinic is called Wellspring Family Medical Associates.

"After 35 years in family practice, I feel like I was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and the hole kept seeming to get deeper..." said Dr. Sholl. "Functional Medicine uses a systems-oriented approach to address the underlying causes of disease, and engages both doctor and patient in a healthful partnership. With a focus on a more patient-centered approach, functional medicine doctors address not just the symptoms, but the the whole person. Functional medicine doctors spend considerably more time with their patients, listening to their histories, and looking at the lifestyle factors that are influencing long-term health and disease. In this way, functional medicine doctors support the expression of health for each individual."

Nationally, functional medicine doctors have made a significant impression on leaders in government and medicine: In 2009, the US Senate invited testimony on health reform, where functional medicine was brought to the attention of key policymakers. Additional productive discussions with legislative leaders and staff followed that opportunity. Senator Harkin now keeps a copy of the Textbook of Functional Medicine in his Senate office. That same year, IFM 's white paper, 21st Century Medicine: A New Model for Medical Education and Practice, was published and disseminated widely to critical acclaim. With the passage of healthcare reform legislation in 2010, the National Council on Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health was established and will have an advisory group that includes leaders in functional medicine. Leading integrative medicine authorities, such as Mehmet Oz, MD, cite functional medicine as a major influence on their thinking. -from the Institute of Functional Medicine

So don't be surprised if you call your doctor and get a recording that sounds something like, "Thank you for calling, this medical office is now closed. Please call your doctor at his new Functional Medicine practice" and be prepared to follow your doctor to a new paradigm of healthcare.

For interviews or more information, contact:
Robert Sholl, MD
Functional Medicine Doctor
Wellspring Family Medical Associates
153 US Route 1 Suite 11
Scarborough, Maine 04074
Phone: (207) 289-1060
Web: http://www.FunctionalMedicineMaine.com

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