Functional Medicine
What to Expect
Preparing for your appointment

We are conscious of your health care budget when recommending labs, treatments, and supplemental protocols and will provide the most cost effective care for you. Wellness Alternatives' providers, nurses, and support staff are personable and accessible. We are knowledgeable, passionate, and skilled in Functional Medicine. We strive to accommodate your time and schedule, help you to prepare for your consultation, provide realistic plans of care, nutritional support, and explain what to expect with each step of the process. We triage each case and conduct case reviews. Wellness Alternatives is clinically experienced to treat the root cause, order testing, diagnose, and develop protocols to slow the progression of disease, lessen or alleviate symptoms, and promote healing.

How to get started?

Print and fill out the New Patient Paperwork. Please entirely complete and sign each form as requested. Scan and email all registration and assessment forms to dpeterson@stlwa.com or fax to 636-779-1456. We will triage each new case with Dr. Peterson and then call you back to confirm that we have received your paperwork, ask pertinent questions, and discuss recommendations and options on how to proceed to meet your health goals.

What are the Fees?

• New Patient
  $150.00. This fee is to be paid when you book your initial appointment in order to reserve your consultation time. This is non-refundable. Unfortunately, we cannot hold appointment times until this initial payment is received. Allow one hour for your consultation with Dr. Peterson and 30 minutes with a staff member if nutritional considerations need to be addressed.
  
  Payment is expected at the time of service.
• Reassessment
  Follow up appointments are based on the following criteria:
  $100.00 Appointment with one lab reviewed
  $150.00 Appointment with two labs reviewed
  $150.00 Appointment with GIE/GFP reviewed
  Fees associated with reviewing multiple tests and fees related to special circumstances will be determined by the physician. Please call with inquiries.
  
  Consultations fees for questions and medical review without tests associated are based on physician time:
  $ 50.00 1-15 minutes
  $100.00 16-30 minutes
  Fees are based according to each 15 minute interval the physician allows for your case.
  
  Payment is expected at the time of service and we require that fees be held with a credit/debit card.
  
  
• Nutritional Compounds
  Recommendation for supplement protocols are based upon questionnaire and lab analysis combined with information obtained during the consultation.
  
• Labs
  $125 for a Comprehensive Wellness Panel which is our most commonly ordered lab test. This is a 52 marker gold standard blood chemistry evaluation. Other tests are available such as Thyroid Antibodies; Vitamin D; Omega-3; C-Reactive Protein; PSA; Blood Type; Hormone Panels; Adrenal Stress Index; Food Allergy Tests; Celiac Profiles; and DNA Stool Testing.
  
  Dr. Peterson requires current and complete data in order to make the most accurate recommendations for you. Wellness Alternatives is happy to accept lab work ordered by other health care providers if the labs meet Dr. Peterson's guidelines. Once you have submitted your paperwork and any labs you would like Dr. Peterson to consider, we will contact you and let you know if your labs are sufficient or if more current and/or complete testing is required. If your labs are acceptable, there is an associated minimum $30 fee to compensate Dr. Peterson for his time to review the lab results and develop an assessment and supplement protocol for you. (This same fee for service is included in the cost when a client purchases lab work through Wellness Alternatives.)
  
  We do not advocate pre-paid health care contracts. We feel that our policy allows us to provide you with the time you need and still be cost effective for each individual patient. You pay for what you actually authorize and need. Our staff is available for patient support under the direction of Dr. Peterson.
  
  

• Treatment Combinations
  $175.00 for new patients that would like Functional Medicine combined with SOT Chiropractic in the same visit. Combining these protocols provides the speediest of recoveries, synergistically helps the body to heal, balance, and utilize the treatment protocols to their fullest extent so that optimal health can be achieved as quickly as possible.
  
  

Insurance
We do not accept insurance. We have chosen to price our services on a consistent basis for all our patients. Those who are fortunate to have insurance can be assured they are paying no more or less than any other patient receiving our same quality service. We can provide you with the necessary paperwork to enable you to work with insurance to seek reimbursement.  

Individual Consultation Cancellation or Missed Appointment Policy
As all services are provided by appointment only and this time is reserved for your exclusive use, we must request a 24-hour notice to cancel an appointment. If you do not cancel your consultation within 24 hours or if you miss an appointment, Wellness Alternatives has the right to bill you for the full amount of consultation.

To make an appointment, please call 636-227-4949, fax 636-779-1456 or email Dr. Peterson at dpeterson@stlwa.com.