FAQ

We are an inclusive, supportive, and encouraging organization whose goal is the success of countless independent practitioners across the country. We believe that as functional health care spreads to all the communities of the nation, we will see the health of those communities transformed as well. 

FHP is open to members from a diversity of training and backgrounds such as doctors, nurse practitioners, naturopaths, physician assistants, health coaches, nutritionists, dietitians, and chiropractors. Anyone who is looking to improve the health of their patients and clients through root-cause, lifestyle-based approaches will find camaraderie and encouragement here.

FHP is ideal for the solo practitioner with a collaborative mindset who is launching a private, telemedicine, cash-pay, non-PCP practice. However, these are not exclusive as we believe that all functional health professionals can benefit from membership with FHP - regardless of the stage of their business development.

FHP is here to support you wherever you're at in the process! Even if you have no intention of launching a solo practice, you can benefit from the community and resources we have. You're sure to feel more comfortable and confident in your patient care by being part of such a supportive community.

Maybe you're thinking about going solo, but a realistic launch date is still 6-12 months away. FHP would still be great for you! You'll be able to attend our meetings, get ideas, and start to solidify your vision well before the pressure starts to build.

If you're a few months from launch, then this is another perfect time to join! You can start to build out your EMR customizations and get things ready for the big day.

Ultimately, we hope that health professionals at all stages will benefit from FHP. We also think that those who join earlier in their process will gain the most benefit.

In other words: Don't think that you need to have it all figured out before you join. Helping each other 'figure it all out' is why we exist!

As an all-virtual company, we have the advantage of working with any functional practitioner, anywhere in the country! However, we would love to create in-person social opportunities in the future, as well!

The EMR decision was perhaps the most difficult. As we all know, no EMR is perfect for every situation. In the functional medicine space, there are only a few that stand out as flexible enough to handle the diversity of our practices.

Cerbo/MDHQ is one of the most popular, and many clinicians ask why FHP did not choose it. There are several key reasons.

1 . CharmHealth's pricing structure matches our goal of keeping initial overhead very low. If we used Cerbo, the monthly fee for FHP would have to be substantially higher, simply to cover the cost of the EMR.

2. Cerbo requires more setup from their developers, whereas Charm permits more customization by the user. This is important because we do not want to be too dependent on the EMR vendors to fix and modify things for our members.

3. Charm's ability to create and manage independent facilities is essential for FHP. Although Cerbo does allow facilities to be set up under one entity, Charm makes this much easier, and it works almost perfectly for what FHP is trying to accomplish: independent practices that are connected - but only in the ways that we want them to be.

4. Charm has an abundance of add ons that negate the need for additional software solutions. One that is a real bonus is their Connect/Chat feature. This is essentially a HIPAA-compliant instant messaging platform that can be used internally or externally.

We tried to imagine a way for our members to be able to choose their own EMRs, but it would have made our goals unattainable. Our need for a shared, flexible, and pay-as-you-grow EMR ultimately made Charm the clear choice.

Yes, you may keep your current EMR, but doing so means that you can only join the Connect membership. We cannot provide patient-related assistance/care manager support outside of the Charm environment. 

We use Google Workspace to connect for non-patient-related issues.

Google Chat allows for real-time communication across the organization.

We have our weekly meetings through Google Meet.

Our shared Google Drive houses all of the many forms, templates, meeting recordings, and other helpful resources that we share with each other.

You will certainly have lots of opportunities to meet others and grow as an entrepreneurial FHP with the Connect membership!

One of our goals at FHP is to keep the cost to join as low as possible. This is why we charge a monthly fee that essentially covers the software platforms, taxes, and a very small amount of administrative overhead. The cost difference between the membership levels pays for the EMR add-ons (eFax, telemed, eRx, etc).

We then added a per-encounter fee to account for the Care Management support as well as future growth of the company. Since we have hopes of adding more staff and special consultants, we need to generate some revenue. We thought it best to derive this from the patient encounter fee and not the base membership because it can then be built into your patient pricing structure. If you are just starting out and do not have many patients, your payment remains low. As your practice grows and has more administrative needs, you pay proportionally.

Ultimately, we want to see our members launch, grow and be successful in their practices. FHP is here to help, not be another financial burden. We believe this pricing structure properly balances the financial needs of FHP as well as our members' practices.

While this would be great, we are not promising to build our members' practices. However, we do believe that membership with FHP can accelerate your practice growth considerably. The ideas, encouragement, resources, and collective knowledge that we provide to one another greatly reduce the burden that we feel as independent practitioners and motivate us to keep moving forward with our dreams.

There are a few ways that FHP differs from the existing options out there. First, instead of having 1:1 mentorship with one expert in a specific style of practice development, we are a community of practitioners who share what's working and what's not across a range of business styles. We learn from each other. We adapt to our unique regions and communities and the changing field of healthcare.

Additionally, FHP unites its community through common resources in a way that the others don't. At FHP, you will feel like you're connected in a real-time way - as if you were in the same office. We aren't creating a one-time practice-boosting program; we're building a community that grows and supports each other over the course of our careers.

We do not foster a scarcity or competitive mindset at FHP. The need for functional health professionals is great, and we all bring unique qualities to our patients.

Furthermore, most of us are not interested in panels of thousands of patients, but rather hundreds. Therefore, we believe that there is more than enough room for all of us to grow and develop our practices without entertaining a sense of competition.

Yes, we do. At FHP, we encourage our members to be generous toward each other with their knowledge and experience. This may mean sharing protocols, business templates or perhaps being available for a "curbside consult." We believe that collaboration and mutual support bring growth to all of us and in many ways. ​

At the same time, we also celebrate the unique training that some of our members have pursued in particular areas. As independent professionals seeking compensation for our talents, we believe that you should also monetize your knowledge however you want. Some of our members create courses, write books, or build mentorship programs in particular areas of expertise.

Ultimately, how much you contribute to the group is up to you. FHP will always support your autonomy in this area.