I'm struggling to conceive or maintain a pregnancy. Is there anything else you can do outside of a fertility clinic?

Yes! In our experience, there are additional areas of health that may not be further investigated by your fertility clinic that could be contributors to your concerns.

What additional benefits would be added having a naturopathic doctor on my health team during my pregnancy?

If you have a family doctor, generally visits are scheduled at weeks 10, 16, 20, 24, 28, 34, 36, 38 and 41. As pregnancy is on average 40 weeks, this means that you are only seen twice before you are halfway through your pregnancy. We recognize that you probably have so many questions during this time, and we'd like to be that touch point for you. The foundation of naturopathic medicine is based on a prevention model of health. We have the luxury of time to assess if you have any additional health concerns that may have been overlooked or not thought of as a big deal, and need to be addressed in order to ensure a healthy pregnancy for you and healthy growth for baby.

Are you able to work with my family doctor or midwives during my pregnancy?

Absolutely! We recognize that each profession plays a different role, and our belief is that a collaborative model is the best model. We are very familiar with the 'Antenatal Pathway' that your family doctor is recommended to follow, and are aware of all the standard labs and work ups done. We do our best to 'stay in our lane', offering recommendations that are evidence-based, safe in pregnancy and warranted. We often have to run additional lab work that are unfortunately not included in these Antenatal Pathway documents. The labs that we run in early pregnancy have the ability to positively change the outcome of your pregnancy if changes can be added in a timely manner (usually before 20 weeks)!

Why are new mom's not followed up with after the birth of baby?

We don't really know! Fortunately, if working with midwives, you are followed up to 6 weeks after birth of your baby, but after that, you're kind of on your own. At each 'well-child check up', the provider will briefly check in on you, but in our experience, there is a call and a need to do more. 95.8% of health care practitioners polled believe that perinatal mental health services are insufficient. We recognize this and are offering more touch points for you, so that you can show up as the best new version of yourself while navigating the newness of motherhood.

I'm ready to prioritize my health. What should I expect an appointment to cost?

New patient appointments are $299, and all follow up appointments are between $99-199. The price of the visit does not include any labs or supplements recommended.

*Prices will be increasing on July 15th 2024. Any appointments that are attended before this date will have previous pricing stated above.*

Clinically, we know that no one gets 'better' after 1 visit, and historically we've noticed that it usually takes 3 visits within 6 months to make some kind of lasting change. All worthwhile things take time.

How long is an appointment?

If you are a new patient to the clinic, your appointment can be up to 75 minutes long depending on the complexity of your symptoms, history and/or health goals. Follow up appointments thereafter may range between 30-60 minutes long.

Do you take insurance?

We are unable to offer direct billing at this time. At the very least, we are able to provide you with an emailed detailed receipt that you can submit to your insurance provider.

Is everything covered by insurance?

It is highly variable and dependent on your insurance provider. If you are to submit your receipt to your insurance provider, we recommend giving them a call prior to your appointment to understand what is covered and what is not. In our experience, the cost of the naturopathic visit is covered, whereas any labs or supplements may not be. Patients who have "Health Spending Accounts" tend to have more consistent coverage in regards to labs.

Do you work with patients that live in Alberta, but outside of Calgary?

Yes! We'd prefer your initial appointment to be in-person, but if distance makes it difficult for you to come in, we are able to accommodate you via our secure web-conferencing platform.

How come labs are out-of-pocket?

Since naturopathic doctors in Alberta are not included under the 'Alberta Health Services' umbrella, any labs that we order are out-of-pocket. However, this has proven to be a positive thing, as we are able to order labs when we want, however often we'd like to, and are not ruled by an algorithm that a typical medical doctor would have to follow. This gives you the power back to be your own advocate for your health, especially if you feel as though something has not been thoroughly investigated enough.

How are labs drawn?

We use Alberta Precision Labs (APL) for the majority of our non-specialty testing. Once labs are paid for, you are provided with a lab requisition, just like you would be given by your family doctor, to take to any APL (currently Dynalife) location at your earliest convenience.

How come you require a credit card on file when booking an appointment?

The credit card is to secure your first appointment with a 50% deposit of the visit cost (ie. with an initial appointment, we require a $150 deposit) that will be applied to the total cost of the first visit, and to retain on file as a patient of our office. The credit card we have on file is only used for late cancellations/no shows (we charge 50% of the visit fee, which is not applied to any future visits), or if we need to email you a requisition in the future for lab work to monitor your case.

What is your cancellation policy?

We value the time and scheduling needs of our patients, practitioner, and staff. A late cancellation or missed visit leaves a hole in the practitioner's day that could have been filled by another patient. As such, a strict 1-business day cancellation policy is in effect for all visits. Visits that are not cancelled with one business day's notice are subject to the 50% visit fee. For example: appointments booked for Mondays must be cancelled by the previous Friday, not Sunday. Cancellation fees will be billed as "missed appointments" and are not eligible for insurance claims. Cancellation fees will be billed to the credit card on file, and invoices must be paid prior to booking subsequent appointments. Patients are required to have a valid credit card on file to manage their ongoing care.

What is the cancellation policy in the case of an emergency?

Unfortunately, patients that cancel at the last minute are charged for their appointment regardless of the cause of cancellation. The office cannot be responsible for judging what constitutes an emergency, and so we have to apply an across-the-board cancellation policy.