FAQ's About Functional & Integrative Medicine in Jefferson City, MO

The principles of Integrative Medicine include:

• A partnership between patient and practitioner in the healing process.

• Appropriate use of conventional and alternative methods to facilitate the body’s innate healing response.

• Consideration of all factors that influence health, wellness, and disease, including mind, spirit, and community, as well as body.

• A philosophy that neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts alternative therapies uncritically.

• Recognition that good medicine should be based in good science, be inquiry-driven, and be open to new paradigms.

• Use of natural, effective, less-invasive interventions whenever possible.

• Use of the broader concepts of promotion of health and the prevention of illness, as well as the treatment of disease.

• Training of practitioners to be models of health and healing, committed to the process of self-exploration and self-development.

Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States. Osteopathic doctors (D.O.s) can become fully licensed physicians able to practice medicine and surgery in all 50 states and are recognized to varying degrees in 65 other countries.

Frontier physician Andrew Taylor Still founded the profession as a rejection of the prevailing system of medical thought of the 19th century. Still's techniques relied on manipulation of joints and bones, to diagnose and treat illness, and he called his practices "osteopathy." By the middle of the 20th century, the profession had moved closer to mainstream medicine, adopting modern public health and biomedical principles. American "osteopaths" became "osteopathic medical doctors," ultimately achieving full practice rights as medical doctors in all 50 states, including serving in the U.S. armed forces as physicians.

D.O.s receive special training in the musculoskeletal system, your body's interconnected system of nerves, muscles, and bones. By combining this knowledge with the latest advances in medical technology, they offer patients the most comprehensive care available in medicine today.

Osteopathic physicians focus on prevention, tuning into how a patient's lifestyle and environment can impact their well-being. D.O.s strive to help you be truly healthy in mind, body, and spirit—not just free of symptoms.

Your initial visit lasts up to 90 minutes. It is a chance to tell your story and really be heard. Dr Vaughan will ask a lot of questions and will document your story as you tell it. Our goal is to create a plan to diagnose and treat your concerns. She will also go over what kinds of testing we do, what the costs for these tests are, and what your subsequent visits will  involve. 

Please sign up for the patient portal before coming in and fill out the necessary questionaires electronically. This saves valuable time so that we can focus our appointment on creating a comprehensive plan of care. 

Functional Medicine is not a passive process and you will need to be ready and willing to make lifestyle modifications or your success will be limited.

Initial recommendations from this first encounter will typically include advice on beginning the process of making healthy lifestyle choices such as eliminating soda, processed or fast food, smoking, or drinking too much alcohol, and not getting enough water, sleep, fun, spiritual connection, and exercise.  We like to use the 80/20 rule and feels that if you can get most of the lifestyle stuff right about 80% of the time, then you can let loose about 20% of the time. 

This is up to each individual patient, depending on the complexity and severity of your health concerns, your own readiness for change, and your goals. When treating chronic health problems, our visits may initially be more frequent so that we can work on peeling away the layers that get us to the deeper root causes of disease and so that our team can provide close support, coaching, and advocacy for our patients.

The following is a general guide for frequency of visits:

Come in ONCE A YEAR if you:

• Are in good health.

• Take no medications.

• Are experiencing no change in health over the last year.

Typical annual visit includes: physical exam, yearly labs, preventative screening needs, lifestyle evaluation and program.

Come in EVERY SIX MONTHS if you have:

• Chronic medical conditions that are stable and controlled.

• Prescription medications.

Bi-annual visit includes: refill prescription(s), assess effectiveness, follow up labs (if needed), assess any potential changes in health, fine tune lifestyle program as needed.

Come in EVERY THREE TO FOUR MONTHS if you have:

• Chronic medical conditions that are not controlled or are worsening.

• Prescription medications.

• Had changes in your health.

Visits include: change doses or medications, follow-up labs, changing lifestyle programs as needed, renew coaching or advocacy contracts.

Other situations:

• If you are starting a new medication for a new problem, we suggest appointments at two to four weeks, then three to six months, or until stable, and then for maintenance.

• For women starting (sex and/or thyroid) hormone therapy, you should notice changes in symptoms within two to four weeks. These therapies may require frequent dose adjustments, repeat labs to assess hormone levels, and follow-ups to help you get the full benefit of therapy.

• For men starting testosterone replacement, the first year of therapy involves the most monitoring for safety and effectiveness. Labs are checked at baseline, six to 12 weeks, six, nine, and 12 months. Once a therapeutic dose is established, we can lengthen visit intervals to six to 12 months.

Here’s how you make an appointment. 

• Call the office to make your initial visit appointment.

• If you get the "check in" email before your visit, please fill this out so that your chart is updated. The emails will come from Patient Fusion, our electronic medical records partner, and we have no control of when these emails are generated, but they generally come at eight days and one day before your appointment.

• Check out with the front desk before you leave, especially if we know you already need a follow-up or lab draw appointment.

• Log on to the portal and schedule online or call for appointments as needed.

These medications require more monitoring. The goal is to use this sparingly. If they expire, you need to come in, we will not automatically refill. Narcotics, ADD medications, testosterone for men and women, and certain sleep aids are controlled. They are classified by the DEA, and there are rules to dispensing. Some are mandated to be hand-carried. Testosterone always expires in six months. Narcotics and stimulants are only good for 30 days.

Referrals require that we assess you and document why we think a certain therapy is necessary for your health condition. We need to evaluate you in person to send a proper referral. Referrals often expire, while PT and medical massage need to be reevaluated for necessity and this needs to be documented. Please make an appointment.

Please feel free to call and see if there are any openings in the schedule. Sometimes people call and cancel same day, leaving last-minute openings. Typical acute cases that we see include: sore throat, cold symptoms, UTI, yeast infections, need letter due to missed work.

Schedule an office visit. Paperwork is cumbersome, and we need your help with the answers. Often, it requires exams, labs, vitals, etc. as well as our time.

Of course! We can send notes as you request and try to collaborate with your care.

Regular Office and OMT Visits