This will take you to a page where you can cancel the session. Optionally, click the 3 dots to the right of the Reschedule button and select Cancel from the options provided.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Questions
How do I become a new patient?
Complete an application at the Become a Patient link above. Once we receive your application, we will notify you of a decision within 72 hours. Unfortunately, we cannot accept all patients.
Once you are accepted, you will be sent an invitation to access the patient portal and book your initial welcome package.
How much will this cost?
It’s difficult to list an exact amount because different people will require differing amounts of care. However, at RIFM, we pride ourselves on being cost-effective with our care. What does that mean? It means our doctors will not order frivolous testing, prescribe unnecessary treatment, or do anything else that could squander your financial resources. Visit our Become a Patient Page for our current rates.
What about lab testing?
Lab testing is one area where fees can quickly add up. However, we hope you will be relieved to hear that RIFM is able to obtain excellent results with minimal lab testing.
In most cases the doctors may only require roughly $150-300 of testing, and in some cases no initial lab testing will be required. RIFM also suggests or requires minimal follow up testing, if any.
There is an additional Lab Report Analysis fee of $65 for any labs done outside of our care.
Do you accept insurance?
- The Ruscio Institute for Functional Medicine does not accept any form of medical insurance or Medicare/Medicaid. Our office staff will provide you with an itemized bill "Superbill" to file with your insurance company (Medicare excluded) for reimbursement. *Applicable to individuals residing in TX
- Insurance companies place many restrictions on doctors which can make it difficult to treat you effectively. Even though there are out of pocket expenses, our patients find it is well worth it!
How often will I need to be seen?
RIFM doctors usually asks to see a patient once a month while being treated. It is not required to come in person unless seeking insurance coverage or depending on the severity of the case, treatment length can range from three months to over a year.
What should I expect in the Initial Exam?
At the exam, the doctor will take a full medical history of you and fill in any variables that he needs to solve your unique health problem. It is the information he gathers at the exam that he uses to build a roadmap and game plan for your treatment. Your treatment protocol will be provided at your Initial Follow-up appointment, which is called the “Report of Findings”. We schedule these two appointments a week apart so that the physician can synthesize all your information and develop the best plan for your case.
Why do patients choose the Ruscio Institute for FM?
Dr. Ruscio embraces the progressive mindset of functional and integrative medicine yet is conservative in protocols so as to provide a cost-effective treatment for the patient. By the economical and prudent use of available diagnostic tools like functional lab testing, adjunct treatments, and supplement protocols, our physicians can uncover core imbalances while not predisposing individuals to financial stress. At RIFM, we also are diligent about the time we spend with patients—preparing in advance for each visit, synthesizing the health history and clinical information, and formulating an individualized treatment plan that fits the patient’s story, signs, and symptoms. By valuing our patient’s time and preparing effectively, we are able to make our functional and integrative services affordable. Ultimately, as a team, Dr. Ruscio and the RIFM team hopes to bridge the gap between conventional medicine and integrative & functional medicine by providing whole-person medical care, informed by evidence, accessible to anyone that needs it.
When do I start feeling better?
Some patients begin to feel better within days to weeks, while for others it may take months. This is highly specific to the individual, and our doctors can provide you a specific prognosis during your Initial Follow Up visit.
Total treatment cost is heavily dependent on the person. RIFM doctors always opt for the most minimal treatment, and our goal is to get you to a point where you no longer require treatment as quickly as possible.
Can the Ruscio Institute for FM help me?
While its challenging to make a guarantee in health care, we believe that our team at RIFM provides care you can’t get anywhere else.
Here is why: Our doctors dedicates three days per week to digging through the medical literature to stay abreast of the best testing and treatment options available. They also analyzes results from in-office research, where they review patient treatment results to identify key patterns in order to make treatment more effective. Our doctors are also collecting data on unique treatments we offer in the clinic, the results of which we hopes to have published in a peer review medical journal. We at RIFM are passionate about tracking patient outcomes. Instead of blindly following current dogma, our doctors are determined to use those tracking outcomes to uncover which treatments work and which treatments don’t.
We recommend you watch our numerous patient testimonials, where you will likely find several people with your exact complaints Dr. Ruscio and his team has helped.
PATIENT PORTAL QUESTIONS
How do I access the patient portal?
Simply click the “Patient Portal” link above. You will need to activate your account before you can access the patient portal. Once accepted as a patient, you will receive an email with a subject line asking you to join your practitioner on Practice Better.
How do I activate my patient account?
You will receive an email with a subject line asking you to join your practitioner on Practice Better.
In the email, you will see a button to activate your account.
After clicking on the activation link, you will be taken to a page where you can set up a password to access the system.
Enter and confirm your password, accept the terms and click the Sign up button.
After activating your account, you will then have access to the Client Portal and the resources your practitioner has provided you.
How do I upload documents?
In your Documents section, you now have the ability to upload and share files with your practitioner. To get started, click on My Resources > Documents from the main navigation menu.
In the bottom right corner of your Documents page, click the red Fast Action Button.
On the Upload Files page, click on the Select files button to select one or more files from your computer. You can upload up to 10 documents at once. Each document must be less than 120MB in size.
To add additional items, click the Add another button to the right
You can also change the destination folder for your upload if you've already created a new folder(s) in your My Uploads section. Click Upload to upload your documents.
How do I submit a form?
If your practitioner has sent you a form for completion, you can submit your form in two ways.
Complete and submit your form through the Client Portal.
If you have access to the Client Portal, you can access your new forms by clicking on the Complete button on the Pending Forms banner or My Resources> Forms and selecting the form that you want to work on.
When you have filled in all the fields of your form and you are ready to submit it, click on the Save and Submit button on the bottom right of the screen.
If you need to step away from your form but you're not ready to submit it you can save your progress by clicking on the More Options button and selecting Save progress.
Complete and submit your form directly from your email
You also have the option of completing your forms directly from the Practice Better, forms notification emails.
You can do this by clicking on the link to the form.
Appointment questions
How do I join a telehealth session?
You will receive an email confirmation and reminder email for your tele-health phone session.
Once you have activated your Practice Better account, you can update your mobile phone number so that your clinician can call you at your visit time.
The doctor will call you at your appropriate visit time with the number you have provided. We use phone to prevent bandwidth/disconnection issues and make our time as efficient as possible.
How do I cancel my upcoming appointment?
You can cancel an appointment in a couple of ways:
CANCELING FROM YOUR CLIENT PORTAL HOME PAGE
If the session is displayed under the Upcoming Session panel on your home page, click on the session name. This will take you to the appointment details page. The appointment can then be canceled by clicking the Cancel session button on the left.
Optionally, you can click the 3 dots next to the appointment in the Upcoming Sessions panel and select Cancel from the options provided.
CANCELING FROM YOUR MY BOOKINGS PAGE
If the session is not displayed in the Upcoming Sessions panel, go to your My Resources > Bookings page.
Then click View details next to the session.
What is the cancellation policy?
For Appointments
We ask for 2 business days notice for any cancellations to avoid a late cancellation fee of the full amount of the visit that was canceled.
For the Initial Deposit
We ask for 7 business days notice to avoid a late cancellation fee of the full deposit amount.
IF 7 business days notice is not provided, the initial deposit will be forfeited.
To reschedule the appointment, another deposit of $255 (half the appointment cost) would be required.
Is the initial exam deposit refundable?
The exam deposit is refundable ONLY if notice of cancellation is given 1 week ( 7 days ) prior to your exam date.
If proper notice of cancellation is not provided, the deposit is non-refundable.
ONLINE STORE QUESTIONS
How do I access my clinic store account?
Click the "Store" link above or visit clinicstore.drruscio.com and login with your personal email and password.
Where is my order?
Orders placed after 9am Eastern each day may not be shipped until the following business day.
Orders are NOT processed over the weekend or on national holidays and will be shipped on the following business day.
Please visit our Policies page for more details.
If your order is late:
Due to COVID-19, there is a possibility that the shipping of your order might be delayed by up to 1-5 business days.
If you placed a pre-order:
ALL the items in your order will ship altogether once the backordered product is back in stock.
If you ordered probiotics:
Orders containing COLD packed items placed after 9am Eastern on Thursday, may not be shipped until the following Monday. This is to help ensure that the probiotics do not sit in a warm holding facility over the weekend.
What is the return policy?
You may return any unopened items for a full refund within 90 days of purchase. Please complete the refund request form here: http://drruscio.com/rirefund
Can you cancel or change an online order?
Unfortunately, we were unable to cancel/change your order. Once an order is placed, it is automatically sent to our fulfillment center where it is packed and shipped. If you wish to return your order, you may send back any unopened items for a full refund. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Do you ship oversees or internationally?
Normally we are able to ship to internationally without issue. Since COVID-19 some orders get through while others do not. If you decide to place an order, there may be customs delays and import fees which we will not be able to assist with as we have no jurisdiction once the products leave our shores. I recommend checking with your local government and your local fed ex for more insight.