insights

In the era of the electronic medical record (EMR), organizing patient data in your Functional Medicine practice should be easier than ever. Unfortunately, there aren’t many EMRs that allow easy integration of the Functional Medicine tools such as the timeline and matrix, or Functional Medicine intake and assessment forms. This is a missed opportunity, because the nature of Functional Medicine creates huge potential for computer-based solutions to documenting, tracking, and displaying patient medical information.

There is, however, a tool that helps integrate Functional Medicine intake, assessment, charting, and tracking in a point-of-care accessible format. LivingMatrix, a cloud-based, clinician-designed Functional Medicine platform, allows you to evaluate patients, create personalized, actionable care plans, and track health outcomes over time. In the following video, IFM Educator Kristi Hughes, ND, talks about how she uses LivingMatrix in her practice.

LivingMatrix allows you to distribute any of the forms from the IFM Toolkit to patients ahead of their scheduled visit, which means you can have the information available at the time of care. The platform also auto-populates a Functional Medicine Timeline, which clinicians can then go through with their patients, adding information as needed. It also allows you to provide electronic versions of patient education materials from the IFM Toolkit following an office visit or consultation, and now also includes patient-reported symptom tracking. Perhaps best of all, the visual interaction with the platform during a patient encounter can provide amazing opportunities for patient insight into their well-being and can also be highly motivating for sustainable lifestyle change.

Learn more about LivingMatrix here.