Structure of Services
(Routine Health Packages)
Introduction
While each Routine Health package has a different clinical focus, the structure of services in each package is similar and built from blocks of services (components), arranged differently depending on the package.
The first three services in the Comprehensive Dietary Package, Healthy Aging Package, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) Package, Menopause Management Package, Hypothyroid Management Package, and Prenatal Dietary Package have the same components: assessment, design of a Meal Plan, and teaching of that Meal Plan. However, each package has an entirely different clinical focus. The fourth service in each package varies and is specific to the clinical focus.
These are the four components of all Routine Health Packages that are best thought of as “building blocks”:
- Assessment Visit
- Design of Individual Meal Plan
- Nutrition Education Session
- Fourth Service: either follow-up visits (2 x 1/2 hour or combined into a 1-hour visit) or an hourly clinical teaching
Note: Digestive Health packages and Therapeutic Diet services have a different structure.
Below is a description of each service (component) in all Routine Services Packages. There is also a visual representation of each component, along with its costs.
1. Assessment Visit
The first service in all Routine Health packages is an in-depth clinical assessment, which is broken into two parts:
a. The first part of the assessment includes a review of personal and family medical history, recent lab results, current medications and nutritional supplements, as well as your waist and hip measurements (10 minutes).
b. The second part of the assessment is a comprehensive dietary and lifestyle review, where I will collect detailed information, including what you like to eat and when, food likes and dislikes, religious, cultural, or ethical dietary restrictions, and other factors that impact your health and weight, such as sleep habits and activity level (50 minutes).
2. Design of Individual Meal Plan
The second service in all Routine Health packages is the design of your individual Meal Plan, tailored to help you accomplish the goals that you set. Your Meal Plan will take into consideration the information collected during the assessment, medications you may be taking, risk factors you may have, lab test results, food preferences, and food restrictions, if any.
Your Meal Plan will serve as the nutrition and lifestyle roadmap to bridge the gap between your health goals and an achievable and sustainable lifestyle. It will also take any guesswork out of what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat, while providing plenty of variety and choice.
A detailed, multi-page Meal Plan Summary handout will be prepared to accompany your Meal Plan, summarizing the content of what you will be taught during the upcoming Nutritional Education Session. This Summary will also serve as a reference for you as you implement your Meal Plan.
The turnaround time for completing your Meal Plan will be approximately 2 weeks from the time I receive any requested or missing information, such as any nutrition labels or pending lab test results.
3. Nutrition Education Session
The third service in all Routine Health packages is the Nutrition Education Session, which begins with you receiving your Meal Plan, as well as the detailed, multi-page Meal Plan Summary handout.
The visit will begin with a review of any existing risk factors, including weight, waist circumference, or out-of-range lab test results. It will be followed by step-by-step teaching of your Meal Plan, including food categories, serving sizes, number of portions, and how to make substitutions within each food category at each meal.
You will also be provided with specific dietary and lifestyle recommendations to help you achieve the goals that you set. Unless time doesn’t permit, the session will conclude with an opportunity to ask questions to clarify what you were taught.
4. Fourth Service – depends on package
The fourth service varies depending on the specific Routine Health package chosen.
Four Visit Packages
The Comprehensive Dietary Package, Healthy Aging Package, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) Package, and Menopause Management Package provide a choice of follow-up visits that are to be used within 3 months of the assessment visit. The Hypothyroid Management Package has a Clinical Nutrition Session for its fourth service.
Follow-up Visit(s)
- Two half-hour follow-up appointments: each visit is for reviewing weight and waist circumference and answering questions about implementing the Meal Plan.
- A combined one-hour follow-up appointment: the first half hour is for reviewing progress, and the second half hour is used to adjust your Meal Plan based on requested changes or revised measurements.
Clinical Nutrition Education
The fourth visit in the Hypothyroid Management Package is a nutrition education session that covers the nutrients of importance in hypothyroidism, including recommended dosages and the timing of supplements in relation to medication.
Three Visit Packages
The Prenatal Package is a three-session package that provides three versions of the Meal Plan (one for each trimester) and, as a result, has no fourth session.
Add-on Sessions (optional)
For those taking an add-on session on topics such as gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), gout, hiatus hernia, or a kidney stone diet, this teaching occurs during the Nutrition Education Session appointment, immediately after the teaching of your Meal Plan.
