Episode 11 - Naturopathic Medicine Meets Functional Medicine: Building a Sustainable Membership Practice with Dr. Michelle Leary

In this episode of The Root Cause Business of Medicine, Brothers Dr. Erik Lundquist and Dr. Davin Lundquist interview naturopathic physician Michelle Leary about how naturopathic training overlaps with—and differs from—MD/DO pathways, especially its outpatient focus and deeper emphasis on nutrition, lifestyle, supplements, and (in some states) pharmaceuticals. Michelle explains key challenges in the ND profession, including limited post-grad residency funding and variable scope of practice by state, while arguing for more collaboration between conventional and naturopathic clinicians to address chronic disease and access gaps. She then details how she helped grow Vita’s functional medicine arm—from an insurance-based model through COVID-driven demand—into a tiered membership program launched in 2023 to reduce burnout, improve access, and fund higher-touch care. The discussion closes with her vision of functional medicine converging with precision/P4 and “Medicine 3.0” prevention—using objective metrics (e.g., VO₂ max, DEXA/body composition) plus better data synthesis (including AI) to prevent the major chronic disease “four horsemen.”