Medicine for people seeking holistic choices

We intend your initial visit to our practice to mark the beginning of profound changes in your life. Plan to spend 90-120 minutes. Dr. Sharp will review the history of your experience with health problems to begin the process of understanding the factors that influence your well-being and identifying underlying causes of your symptoms. These usually include sources of stress, disturbances of physiology, risk factors and unhealthy behaviors. It is often helpful to assay how you manage stress, and appropriate aspects of your diet, spiritual and emotional life.

This initial visit will include review of your recent lab tests or other kinds of studies and discussion of the advisability of gathering additional data. Lab testing can be expensive, and not all of the labs Dr. Sharp works with file with insurance. All decisions about lab testing are made with the patient’s fully informed involvement, taking into account financial concerns as well as the extent to which the patient may be supported in the healing process by having scientific data. We find that such data does motivate patients as well as serving as a baseline reference for future progress. See the Lab Tests page for specific information on the sorts of lab testing Dr. Sharp relies on.

For patients whose health concerns are reflected in significant body composition issues such as weight, the initial visit may entail the gathering of another set of data, including a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, which measures both fat and lean body mass as well as body water status. These results combined with basic blood chemistries such as cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose tolerance and others can provide a very clear and useful picture of health risks and the road map for improvement.

An important part of your first visit will be to identify health priorities and goals you want to achieve. This may include amelioration of your most troubling symptoms, changes in lab values (such as cholesterol), weight loss and improved body composition, and goals related to your mental function and sense of well-being.

The initial visit will conclude with a plan for moving forward. Dr. Sharp will make recommendations for next steps. For many patients the first steps will address diet, exercise and stress management and he may recommend the FirstLine Therapy program of therapeutic lifestyle counseling. This would involve a series of sessions with Kathleen Williams, the practice Lifestyle Educator. Further lab testing may be part of the plan. This part of the process is always individual to the patient, depending on their preferences, financial constraints, and timelines. We understand that each patient is the driver of their own healing path and we strive to work with sensitivity and respect for each patient’s pace.

I look forward to working with you to create a healthier life and to that end I offer a variety of online tools.  These online patient services will allow you to create an account for yourself so you can become a patient, securely submit your health history form and other patient agreements, keep a personal wellness journal, maintain your personal health records in one easy-to-access place, and pay for services online.  You may also request appointments, and prescription refills and order supplements using your online account, as well as communicate with me regarding your treatment.  All these services are technologically secured to guarantee your privacy in a way that e-mail cannot.

To become a new patient you'll need to create an account and submit an online Health History form and other patient agreements.  You can create your account and find the forms here.

Established patients can log on here.