General
RESTORE is an entirely unique internal medicine practice offering a combination of services not available elsewhere. We integrate internal medicine, nutrition, holistic counseling, exercise plan development and personal training, aerobic fitness testing, and acupuncture and Chinese medicine within one clinic, allowing all components to work together. You are welcome to see each practitioner individually. If you see Dr. Aman first for a 2-hour Integrative Medicine Consult, she continues to work behind the scenes to coordinate your care among all practitioners for collaboration at its finest and does not bill for this extra time. Our treatment approach is individualized, holistic, and focuses on getting to the root of the problem.
Each person and the various influences on their health are different. At RESTORE, we believe that these individual influences must be carefully evaluated in order to promote health and well-being. We don’t just focus on symptoms and on prescribing medications in a generic way for every patient.
We discuss supplements and other complementary therapies with you because we know the research that supports their use and effectiveness.
Another important difference is that RESTORE specializes in chronic disease management and prevention. Chronic disease requires an approach that is holistic and focuses on lifestyle. A symptoms driven visit that is 10 minutes long is probably enough time and effort to treat an acute problem such as a sinus infection, but is not the best way toaddress chronic disease that people deal with over a lifetime.
Each RESTORE practitioner utilizes a holistic approach and wants to learn aboutall of the influences on your health. These visits aremuch more comprehensivethan what you may experience at other clinics. We each invest time behind the scenes to work together with each other as well as with your PCP or specialist to develop your integrated treatment plan. You will experience the communication and collaboration that makes the difference. At RESTORE, coordination of your care does not end when your visit ends and is included in the fees for that visit no matter how much time we spend. Our patients are our priority.
It is extremely important for a practitioner and a patient to share the same philosophy on approaching their most valuable commodity, their health. If your philosophy matches ours, then RESTORE is the modern medical practice that is right for you.
Our mission at RESTORE is to provide unparalleled care, which can only be possible by spending time with each of our patients and providing access to services we know are important. Integrative care and complementary therapies are not covered by most insurances and even some mainstream services such as dietitian visits, are covered with many strings attached. For example, you may not know that some insurance companies will not cover a visit with a dietitian for “weight loss” if there is no secondary diagnosis like “high blood pressure”.
Insurance restricts the valuable care that we are committed to providing at RESTORE. In order to be able to provide these essential interventions to our patients, we do not bill insurance for our services. However, we will be happy to provide a superbill for out-of-network benefits that you may have. A superbill is similar to an invoice that has the charges and ICD-10 (billing) codes that insurance companies require to determine if you are eligible for full or partial reimbursement for the service provided. You will then submit this superbill to your insurance company.
Dr. Aman and other RESTORE practitioners are out-of-network-providers so any payment you make at RESTORE will work to decrease your out-of-network deductible. We also accept health spending accounts (HSA) and FSA for many services. Because health accounts were created by the tax code, it’s the Internal Revenue Service that determines what expenses can be reimbursed and what cannot (and not insurance companies). Click on the links below to see some examples of qualified and non-qualified medical expenses.
http://HSA qualified medical expenses
If you would like to submit a superbill to your insurance carrier, it is a good idea to check with your insurance company before visiting RESTORE to see if you have out-of-network benefits. Please remember that all insurance carriers are different and we cannot guarantee that they will reimburse any amount for your visit.
Because we know that frequent follow up is key to achieving benefit from our services, we offer groups of 3-6 sessions for each service at a reduced cost for our patients. We also try to address many things over the phone or through messaging on our patient portal. This saves you valuable time and avoids unnecessary visits.
Dr. Aman works alongside your PCP but does not function as a PCP. This is because she is unable to provide visits for acute illness such as cough, fever or infection which a PCP normally covers. Also, RESTORE does not provide annual PAP smears or vaccinations. It is in your best interest to be able to utilize your insurance for your PCP visits. If you have already been prescribed pain medications or sleeping pills, theseshould be refilled through your PCP.
Dr. Amanis an internist and integrative medicine consultant who specializes in the prevention and management of chronic disease, with an emphasis on lifestyle-related disease, through an integrative approach. This approach takes into account all of the influences on your health such as stress, sleep, lifestyle, physical fitness, and takes time to address. Dr. Aman wishes to dedicate her 2-hour appointment time with you to discussing these influences in depth in order to develop a comprehensive treatment plan that utilizes the best of traditional and complementary therapies that your PCP may not offer. For example, if you have diabetes that you have been unable to control, we work first to understand the reason behind this. We will then develop an individualized and integrated approachthat helps you with lifestyle changeto provide a lasting solution.
Dr. Aman is able to refer you to any specialists that you may need to see, order medications from your pharmacy, order blood work, and order diagnostic tests such as ultrasound or MRI likeall internal medicine physicians. These items can be billed through your insurance however we recommend that you check with your insurance since all plans are different.
Please feel free to call our office before making an appointment. Our staff is happy to answer any questions you may have about which type of provider will best serve your needs.
Our acupuncture services are always available individually for acute or chronic problems. For example if you are experiencing a new pain (acute problem) or chronic pain, you can call our office to make an appointment with our acupuncturist.
You are also welcome to make an individual appointment with any of our other practitioners, however our model works best when your care is team-based, integrated, and holistic.
Appointments can be requested by calling our center at 214-396-0500 or emailing us at [email protected] and our front office staff will be happy to help you schedule. Your name, date of birth, phone number, and email will be entered into our system. You will then receive a welcome email from Power2Patient with instructions on how to join our patient portal to complete the medical questionnaire online prior to your appointment.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide walk- in appointments but same-day appointments may be available for some of our services. Please call our center at 214-396-0500 to request a same day appointment and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
Exercise Physiologist
An exercise physiologist is a health professional who specializes in exercise prescription and rehabilitation using scientific evidence-based approaches. All exercise physiologists must have a four-year college degree and extensive practical experience in order to be accredited. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) accreditation is the gold standard. Exercise physiologists provide expert exercise advice and lifestyle strategies to manage chronic illness, rehabilitate chronic pain andinjuries, enhance weight loss, and to improve fitness and general well-being. They are specially trained in working with people who have chronic medical conditions.
If you would like expert advice to manage complex needs, or to achieve your results faster, an exercise physiologist can help rehabilitate your chronic pain or injury while also improving your strength and fitness. These injuries and conditions can include:
- Lower back and neck pain
- Shoulder pain and rotator cuff injuries
- Hip and sacroiliac pain
- Knee pain
- Conditions due to poor posture and faulty muscle activation
- Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis
- Previous orthopedic surgery
An exercise physiologist can help you to prevent and manage lifestyle related health conditions using exercise, such as:
- High blood pressure and high cholesterol
- Pre-diabetes and type-2 diabetes
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Cardiovascular and respiratory disease
Unlike most personal trainers, an exercise physiologist is qualified to provide exercise rehabilitation for people with complex health needs or people who require expert support and advice. All exercise physiologists must have a four-year college degree and extensive practical experience in order to be accredited. Some exercise physiologists also work as personal trainers and have that added training to help those with more complex problems.
In your first consultation for exercise plan development, your exercise physiologist will cater to your goals and needs, assessing your fitness, posture, biomechanics, lifestyle habits, and health history and will work together with you to design a personalized plan. Depending on your needs this plan may include seeing the exercisephysiologist weekly to supervise your exercise sessions, or periodic support to keep you on track and address any concerns.
Please refer to the “Programs” section of the RESTORE website for an outline of our comprehensive 2-hour fitness evaluation. This evaluation provides information about risk that an average visit to the doctor cannot provide.
Oncology Massage
Yes! Even without knowing your situation, we can assure you that our trained oncology massage therapists can provide safe and effective massage for any person at any stage of their cancer journey. Massage is safe to receive before, during and after traditional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation when provided by a trained professional.
Part of a complete understanding of oncology massage requires a shift in how we define “massage”. Many people think of massage as something that “has to hurt to be effective.” When we refer to massage in the oncology community it can mean anything from a very “normal” massage including the full body; to very light, simple touch intended to help you reconnect with your body in a kind and healing way.
Our trained oncology massage therapists know how to adapt the massage to meet you where you are. A safe massage plan is based around the side effects – both short and long-term – of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Depending on a patient’s history, a therapist trained in oncology massage might make the following adjustments to accommodate conditions related to cancer or cancer treatment:
Pressure – pressure is adjusted to prevent injury to fragile bones, easy bruising, overall energy levels, low blood counts, blood clots, lymph node removal.
Site – specific areas to avoid such as medical devices, sensitivity due to radiation or surgery sites.
Position – a change in body position may be needed to accommodate pain, surgery sites, nausea, anxiety or medical devices.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient technique of helping the body to promote natural healing and to improve functioning. This is done by a skilled practitioner inserting very fine solid needles, applying heat, cupping or electrical stimulation at very precise acupuncture points.
Acupuncture is based on the theory of meridian systems. The classical Chinese explanation is that energy runs in regular patterns through the body and over its surface through the channels. These energy channels, called meridians, are like rivers flowing through the body to irrigate and nourish the tissues. An obstruction in the movement of these energy rivers is like a dam that backs up, which brings imbalance to the body.
Meridians can be influenced by stimulating acupuncture points (which are located along the meridians). The stimulation of acupuncture points unblocks the obstructions at the dams, and re-establishes the regular flow through the meridians. Acupuncture treatments can therefore help the body’s internal organs to correct imbalances in their digestion, absorption, and energy production activities, and in the circulation of their energy through the meridians.
The modern scientific explanation is that needling the acupuncture points stimulates the nervous system to release chemicals in the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These chemicals will either change the experience of pain, or they will trigger the release of other chemicals and hormones which influence the body’s own internal regulating system.
The improved energy and biochemical balance produced by acupuncture results in stimulating the body’s natural healing abilities, and in promoting physical and emotional well-being.
The number of treatments needed differs from person to person and depends on the history, severity of the illness, as well as your body constitution and how you respond to stimulation from needling. For complex or long-standing conditions, one or two treatments a week for several months may be recommended. For acute problems, usually fewer visits are required. For health maintenance, a few times a year may be enough. Your RESTORE acupuncturist will carefully review the recommended treatment plan with you.
People experience acupuncture needling differently. Because the acupuncture needles are very thin and solid and are made from stainless steel, most people feel no pain at all. Some feel only minimal pain as the needles are inserted. Once the needles are in place, no pain is felt.
The point of an acupuncture needle is smooth (not hollow with cutting edges like a hypodermic needle), so insertion through the skin is not as painful as injections or blood sampling. The risk of bruising and skin irritation is less than when using a hollow needle.
We only use disposable needles.
If you do not wish to have needles placed, acupressure may be another option for treatment with the use of pressure points without needles. Your RESTORE Acupuncturist will be happy to discuss this option with you.
Acupuncture is very well tolerated and there are usually no side effects to treatment. As energy is redirected in the body, healing begins to take place. It is quite common with the first one or two treatments to have a sensation of deep relaxation immediately following the treatment. This sensation passes within a short time and never requires anything more than a bit of rest to overcome. Rarely, the original symptoms worsen for a few days but should not cause concern, as this may simply indicate that the acupuncture is starting to work. Occasionally the acupuncture site may bruise, but this resolves within a few days.
In the past 2,000 years, more people have been successfully treated with acupuncture than with all other health modalities combined. Today acupuncture is practiced widely in Asia, and in Europe. It is now being used more and more in America. Acupuncture treatments can be given at the same time other techniques are being used, such as conventional Western medicine, osteopathic or chiropractic adjustments, and homeopathic or naturopathic prescriptions. It is important that your acupuncturist know everything that you are doing, so he or she can help you get the most benefit from all your treatments.
Acupuncture is used successfully on cats, dogs, horses and other animals. These animal patients do not understand or believe in the process that helps them get better. A positive attitude toward wellness may reinforce the effects of the treatment received, just as a negative attitude may hinder the effects of acupuncture or any other treatment. A neutral attitude (“I don’t know if I really believe in this.”) will not block the treatment results.
To enhance the value of a treatment, the following guidelines are important:
Do not scrape or brush the tongue (an acupuncturist can make a diagnosis from seeing the tongue coating)
Do not drink coffee, brown or other colored drinks 2 hours before the treatment (it may color the tongue surface)
Do not get the treatment while feeling hungry; this may cause lightheadedness or dizziness during treatment.
Do not eat an unusually large meal immediately before or after your treatment.
Do not consume alcoholic beverages within 4 hours before or after the treatment.
Continue to take any prescription medicines as directed by your regular doctor.
It is important to review your health insurance coverage to determine if you have acupuncture benefits under your insurance carrier. As with our other services at RESTORE, we are unable to bill your insurance but are happy to provide you a superbill. You can submit the superbill to your insurance company for possible partial or complete reimbursement if you do have acupuncture benefits. Please remember that all insurance carriers are different and we cannot guarantee that they will reimburse any amount for your visit.
Chinese herbal medicine is one of the main treatment methods within Traditional Chinese Medicine along with acupuncture. Chinese herbal medicine is based on an individualized pattern diagnosis as well as a disease diagnosis. At RESTORE, our master herbalist formulates personalized custom herbal preparations using high quality powdered herbs for each of our patientsdesigned to treat their individual pattern as well as their symptoms or disease.
Most of the components of herbal medicine have very low side effects. When they are prescribed according to a correct TCM pattern diagnosis, they should have very few, if any, side effects…only beneficial healing results. There are a few traditional Chinese herbs that have been found toxic through research and treatments stopped by the FDA. Because Dr. Aman is trained in integrative medicine including herbal medications and their side effects with commonly used conventional medications, your acupuncturist and Dr. Aman will work together to discuss herbs that are safe for you to use.
If you have any further questions that were not addressed in our FAQ section, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!