Lab Testing

Sometimes it may be necessary to recommend specialised pathology testing to help further investigate the underlying cause of various health problems. These specialized tests known as functional pathology tests can help provide more information about digestive function, hormone balance, and metabolic needs. They can be used to help develop the most effective treatment plan to improve your health issues. The samples used are from either blood, saliva or urine.

When you go to a GP in Australia, testing is restricted to medicare funding. Only the basic tests are covered under the Medicare bulk-billing program. Doctors cannot send patients for advanced testing unless there is a very specific reason or a pre-diagnosed condition. Furthermore, functional testing is rarely used because this explains the workings of your body, not pathological changed disease.

Medicine and health care are undergoing a paradigm shift. We are seeing more and more demand from our patients to look at their complex cases from a holistic rather than a mechanistic or reductionistic perspective. In order to do this we need to have diagnostic methods that focus on physiological function as a marker of health, rather than merely the presence of pathology or tissue change as a marker of disease. The following lists the differences between a reductionistic, pathological view of the body, and the view of the body as functioning physiology.

Functional

Pathological

The body is viewed as a dynamic and complex interconnected system of mind, body, and emotions.
Emphasis is placed on the identification of areas of imbalance or dysfunction in normal physiology.
Diagnosis integrates data from many different systems and methods.
Treatment addresses the underlying causes of dysfunction.
The major focus is spent on both subjective and objective information gathering based on a concept of optimal physiological function.
Allows for an early prediction of dysfunction.
Health is measured along a wellness continuum, which is a spectrum moving from health to disease. Intervention can be made at every stage of the spectrum to restore and/or improve health and wellness.

The body is viewed as a “machine” composed of separate systems reduced into its constituent parts.
Emphasis is placed on the identification of disease or pathological tissue change.
Diagnosis is extremely specialized.
Treatment is based on reducing symptoms.
The major focus is spent on how the patient is doing based on charts, statistics, and test results etc. that are measured against a statistical “normal population”.
Relies on late-stage development of disease as a marker.
Health is measured as an absence of disease. As long as you do not have a disease, you are considered healthy

In a nutshell- Functional testing looks at functional health and wellbeing. It seeks to answer the question 'How is my body functioning?' Test results do not seek a diagnosis but rather they uncover levels of dysfunction. Often these areas of dysfunction may have not been revealed by conventional pathology tests. Dysfunction can be detected across the board - metabolic, nutritional, digestive, hormonal etc.

Our Ayurvedic practitioner Sandeep Kumar has spent many years forming close relationships with some of the best labs in Australia and around the world. Functional testing is paramount in identifying causative factors affecting your health. Many advanced tests are not offered by doctors simply because they are not covered under medicare. This leaves people unable to find some of the answers they have been looking for.

By doing advanced lab testing we are able to identify the underlying causes of your health concern, allowing us to treat the root cause rather than focus on symptom reduction. With access to hundreds of different advanced tests, our Naturopaths are able to effectively treat many conditions relating to weight gain, gut health, fatigue, anxiety, depression, hormone imbalances, skin issues, autoimmune conditions, and many unexplained health concerns.

Points to be noted:

1. Lab Tests are only recommended when it is necessary for a proper treatment plan. Old lab tests done by GP or other health practitioners are checked first, only those tests which are required will be recommended.
2. As these tests are not covered by Medicare, so our doctors will try to get your GP's referral for these tests so that your hard earned money could be saved. But keep in mind, in most cases your GP could refuse as not all Advanced Tests covered under Medicare.
3. You will be requested to pay money directly to the Laboratory so as to keep transparency in the transaction amount.
4. You can directly get your lab report or we will receive it first, the choice will be yours.
5. At any time you can refuse to go for tests, seek another Doctor, your decision will be at the top. If you cancel to go for tests after paying for tests, then decision to return money will depend upon the respective Laboratory. Our doctors will not be able to interfere in this matter.
6. If our Doctors find any critical Lab result, they can refer you to a GP/ Hospital - their decision will be final, and saving your life will be their priority.

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