The Catalyst: Sparking Creative Transformation in Healthcare

Unplugged: Functional Medicine in Primary Care

“If I could go back six years in primary care, I would have approached my administrators differently. I would have said, ‘Hey, I'm very excited about functional medicine, but it's not for everybody. So here's my ideas’,” explains host Dr. Lara Salyer. Today, Dr. Lara shares her ideas for how to incorporate functional medicine into primary care.
 
Functional medicine is not for everyone. It’s not the same as traditional medicine where a patient just needs to take a pill. Instead, the patient has to be on board to really commit to a lifestyle change. In order to get the medical industry on board with adding functional medicine to their services, it is important to approach practice administrators with a clear strategy and metrics that show how these services will be financially beneficial. Dr. Lara shares three critical steps for how she would go about combining functional medicine and primary care, starting with carefully selecting the patient type that you will be servicing and selecting the metric you will use to measure success.
 
The future of functional medicine lies in primary care. The world of functional medicine is vast and can be quite overwhelming, so it is helpful to really consider what patient type you want to focus on. Choose one patient type and one or two related functional tests that will be your specialty, and only target those pre qualified individuals.
 
Quotes
• “Functional Medicine is a partnership. You need to select the patient type that is ready to do the hard work.” (6:20-6:29 | Dr. Lara)
• “When you're learning functional medicine and trying to unroll this to the masses, you can't be an expert in everything.” (7:47-7:53 | Dr. Lara)
• “You're practicing functional medicine any time that you are daring to look deeper than what insurance allows and what the dogma says.” (8:06-8:15 | Dr. Lara) 
• “When you're selecting patients you need to already be strategizing. Ask yourself, are they the right fit?” (17:34-17:39 | Dr. Lara)
• “If I could go back six years in primary care, I would have approached my administrators differently. I would have said, ‘Hey, I'm very excited about functional medicine, but it's not for everybody. So here's my ideas’.” (20:04-20:16 | Dr. Lara)
 
Links
Connect with Lara: 
Time Management Calendar download: https://healthinnate.activehosted.com/f/49
https://drlarasalyer.com/links 
https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Providers Regaining Their Time and Sanity With the Help of Virtual Scribes and Virtual Assistants

“We provide on a one-on-one basis a dedicated scribe who is a real human being who will work at the right hand of the provider every day throughout their clinic,” explains Steven Sica, VP of ScribeEMR, a provider of virtual scribe and virtual assistant services for medical providers of every specialty across the country. Today, Steven shares how a virtual scribe or virtual assistant can help providers regain their time and sanity.
 
Providers are busier than ever,d and quality, reliable healthcare staff is harder and harder to find. Patient care suffers when providers have less time to spend with each patient and are losing a huge portion of their days to updating electronic medical records. By bringing in a virtual scribe, the provider now regains the portion of their time that would have otherwise been spent updating charts. This virtual assistant is not AI or any sort of complicated technology, it is a real person trained in the provider’s speciality and available solely through audio on a laptop, tablet, or computer. They serve as a fly on the wall during appointments and reduce the workload of the provider.
 
Statistics show many healthcare providers are suffering from burnout. They have to see more patients in shorter time slots, spend long hours updating charts instead of going home on time to their families, and have less support staff available to help them. Instead of the healthcare facilities having to hire more staff, bringing on a virtual scribe can be a less expensive and more practical option that reduces stress and frees up valuable time. 
 
Quotes
• “We provide on a one on one basis a dedicated scribe who is a real human being who will work at the right hand of the provider every day throughout their clinic.” (6:04-6:15 | Steven)
• “We don't use any video, so it's not intrusive on the patient.” (6:38-6:42 | Steven)
• “What we recommend is putting up a placard on the exam room door, even inside the exam room, to let the patient know that there is a virtual scribe being used.” (11:19-11:29 | Steven)
• “Time is the most precious commodity that we have.” (12:15-12:17 | Steven) 
 
Links
Connect with Steven Sica:
Website: www.ScribeEMR.com 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevensica
 
Connect with Lara: 
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

ChatGPT For Health and Wellness Content Marketing

“My mission really is to equip you with the knowledge to take advantage of all these AI tools so you can increase productivity, reduce cost for your marketing, and reduce cognitive drain,” explains Uli Iserloh, PhD. Today, Uli shares 4 actionable tips for using ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools to the fullest extent of their abilities.
 
Everyone is talking about ChatGPT, but you may be unaware of how you could be taking advantage of this tool as a health and wellness professional. ChatGPT is completely changing how people go about seeking and conveying information, because it is free to use, easy to learn, and makes a remarkable difference in productivity. Uli explains that ChatGPT functions similarly to having a team of interns that you can educate to do specific tasks. ChatGPT is currently not connected to the internet. It does not have the PubMed database to draw on, so it still needs to be guided and educated by your own expertise in order to give correct answers to your prompts. 
 
When you take the time to educate ChatGPT on who you are, what your business does, and give it very specific requirements for output, it can be an incredibly helpful tool for getting tasks off your plate. Artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT are getting smarter and being constantly improved. When you learn how to take advantage of these AI tools, you can better educate your clients, automate marketing tasks, and get more accomplished in less time than ever before.
 
Quotes
• “There's statistics that say health and wellness are probably the biggest sector for artificial intelligence to disrupt.” (3:40-3:47 | Uli)
• “It is a great assistant. It will never replace you as the health and wellness professional.” (9:00-9:04 | Uli)
• “It doesn't have the perfect database of all of PubMed, all the stuff that you like to draw on. And if you say, hey, where did this come from? There's no source that it goes back to.” (10:51-11:01 | Uli)
• “Think of ChatGPT really as the ecosystem of having 10, 20, 30 interns working for you each with a specific job assignment with a specific role with a specific education.” (19:33-19:46 | Uli) 
• “My mission really is to equip you with the knowledge to take advantage of all these AI tools so you can increase productivity, reduce cost for your marketing, and reduce cognitive drain.” (32:12-32:24 | Uli)
 
Links
Connect with Uli Iserloh:
WORKSHOP: https://bigboost.marketing/chatGPT
 
Connect with Lara: 
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Befriending Your Financials Can Decrease Burnout and Overwhelm

“Every single woman needs to understand their numbers in their business,” shares Danielle Hayden, CEO and founder of Kickstart Accounting. Today, Danielle discusses why she shifted away from her corporate finance career to become an entrepreneur and how changing your money mindset by befriending your financials can decrease burnout. 
 
One day while Danielle was sitting in a board meeting, she realized that she could be using her expertise to benefit entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs. This catalyst led her to open Kickstart Accounting where she now employs 25 women in a male dominated industry who work primarily in helping other women entrepreneurs. She explains that understanding your numbers is crucial for success, and it is also best to be able to access that information in a non-judgemental space. People tend to shy away from talking about money and may have inherited a money mindset story from their parents, teachers, or peers. But by really analyzing and understanding the numbers, you can reform your money mindset so that handling your business finances does not send you spiraling into burnout. 
 
Numbers do not have to be overwhelming. It is okay to talk about money and even spend money, but so many people are ashamed or just not confident enough to make monetary decisions. These feelings often stem from the money stories you grew up with and may not actually apply to your current life situation. When you get more knowledgeable about your finances, then you can approach money from a different perspective and feel more secure investing in your business.
 
Quotes
• “Every single woman needs to understand their numbers in their business, how to read a profit loss statement, how to read a balance sheet, how to create a budget, and have that information in a space that's non-judgmental, that is safe.” (5:02-5:19 | Danielle)
• “There are actually so many people who need to let go of their money because they're holding on for dear life.” (14:35-14:41 | Danielle)
• “It's a really brave thing to become a business owner and we don't have to make everything so hard.” (29:14-29:21 | Danielle) 
• “We're allowed as business owners to disrupt the industry, and we can break the mold and recreate it.” (32:25-35:30 | Danielle)
 
Links
Connect with Danielle Hayden:
Website: https://kickstartaccountinginc.com/
Kickstart Socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kickstartaccountinginc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickstartaccounting/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kickstart-accounting-inc-/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KickstartAcct
Danielle Socials:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellehayden__oh/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-hayden-kickstartaccounting/
 
Connect with Lara: 
https://drlarasalyer.com/catalyst
Free Functional Medicine Checklist: https://healthinnate.activehosted.com/f/47
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Psychiatry 2.0 - A New Paradigm for Mental Wellness

“For almost all my patients the common themes that I began to see was standard American diet, trauma, and toxins,” shares Dr. Aruna Tummala, MD. Dr. Aruna is a board certified adult and geriatric psychiatrist and the founder of Psychiatry 2.0 and Trinergy Health. She chose to shift into integrative psychiatry because she was frustrated with the traditional approach which focuses on prescribing medications rather than actually seeking out the root causes of chronic mental illness problems. Today, Dr. Aruna discusses her experiences working in psychiatry in India and how it differs dramatically from the model used in the United States. She also shares her approach to mental wellness and the three root causes of mental illness she has repeatedly seen in her patients. 
 
In India, Dr. Aruna was taught that since there is no way to know exactly what causes mental illness, it is necessary to always look for medical neurological causes first. In the U.S., however, the body and mind are largely viewed as completely separate entities. She was reprimanded for attempting to incorporate more integrative approaches and for refusing to medicate patients with antipsychotics, opioids, and antidepressants. When she opened her own practice she began to see that there were three overall root causes of mental illness: the standard American diet, trauma, and toxins. In most cases, there was not a true chemical imbalance, and in the absence of a chemical imbalance it is generally unnecessary to use psychiatric medications.
 
Psychiatrists in the United States are so removed from the rest of the medical community. Mental health is seen as completely separate from the rest of the body, when that could not be further from the truth. The root causes of mental illness are often coming from other areas in the body, so an integrative approach is much more conducive to recovery than simply prescribing antidepressants. 
Quotes
• “We really don't know what causes mental illness. We think it is a chemical imbalance. So the very least that we can do is look for medical neurological causes.” (4:44-4:53 | Dr. Aruna)
• “For almost all my patients the common themes that I began to see was standard American diet, trauma, and toxins.” (23:06-23:14 | Dr. Aruna)
• “If there is no chemical imbalance, why are we keeping these medications?” (32:55-32:58 | Dr. Aruna)
• “It doesn't matter whether you have schizophrenia, bipolar, depression, anxiety, PTSD. Everyone can heal and recover.” (38:39-38:45 | Dr. Aruna)
 
Links
 
Connect with Aruna Tummala:
Website: www.trinergyhealth.com and www.Psychiatry2.com
Substack: arunatummala.substack.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/TrinergyHealth; Facebook.com/TrinergyAyurveda
Twitter: https://twitter.com/trinergy_health
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trinergyhealth
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9XRgM7O5H28e8-Ogma-BtA
Connect with Lara: 
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Making Art From Anxiety With Megan Mitts

“I like to give people as many choices as possible, and I always want to make sure that you feel like you're in control,” explains Megan Mitts, registered art therapist and founder of Art From Anxiety LLC. Megan created her art therapy business as a way to share low risk, high reward therapeutic art activities in a more accessible way that focuses on an artists’ success while also aiming to improve their mental health. The methods she shares are safe for anyone to do on their own and to share with others, and they help people gain more tools for being able to cope with difficult emotions like grief. Today, Megan discusses her professional journey and shares how she uses art therapy to make art from anxiety.
 
Art therapy is a fantastic method for coping with difficult emotions and regulating mental health. One of Megan’s go-to methods to redirect people and give them a reprieve from their emotions is called mega-grounding. For this she asks people to name an animal, an action, and a place. The answers can be rather silly and help take people out of their distressing mental state. Megan chooses her art tools based on emotional need, such as using more rigid tools for a sense of control when overwhelmed and making reconstructive art when dealing with grief. 
 
Channeling anxiety into art is a constructive way of redirecting emotions. Through art therapy, people can learn coping mechanisms that empower them to take control over their own mental health. 
 
Quotes
• “There's a caterpillar dancing in Egypt. Like, oh, okay. It's silly, but it's okay, and these little tools of using our brain in different ways are what can be so helpful in the moment.” (9:15-9:27 | Dr. Lara)
• “Ultimately, my goal is just to help people make art and feel better.” (15:54-15:57 | Megan)
• “I like to give people as many choices as possible, and I always wanna make sure that you feel like you're in control.” (17:31-17:36 | Megan)
• “A lot of people think that grief is something that you only experience when you do lose someone, but a lot of times it is a change in your role. It's a change in someone else's role.” (29:53-30:04 | Megan)
 
Links
 
Connect with Megan Mitts:
Website: ArtFromAnxiety.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@art_from_anxiety
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@art_from_anxiety
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/art_from_anxiety/
Connect with Lara: 
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Social Media for Healthcare Professionals: Using Technology to Educate and Inspire

“I give as much free education as I can out there on social media, because my thought process is the more you give, the more you receive,” shares Megan Bliss, FNP-C. Megan worked as a nurse practitioner in a traditional healthcare setting for many years feeling like she just did not have all the tools she needed to help her female patients. She began attending functional medicine conferences and using social media as an educational resource to learn everything she could and fill her toolbox. A year and a half ago, Megan opened her own private practice with the goal of teaching women about the role of hormones in the body. Today, she shares how technology can be used to educate and inspire patients to take back control of their health.
 
There is an abundance of information about health available on social media. It’s really about knowing where to look and taking the time to educate yourself. Health education is a critical tool for patients that is severely lacking in traditional healthcare settings. When patients are more informed about their health, they are able to make better choices. They also get less discouraged along their health journey when they feel they have the tools to succeed. Instead of searching for some magic pill that will never exist, functional medicine patients learn the role of hormones in the body, the importance of nutrition, and how to make simple and effective  lifestyle changes all while empowering one another in a group setting. 
 
Social media is a fantastic resource for healthcare professionals to not only learn more about topics they are interested in, but also to educate and inspire their patients. By putting free resources up on social media, physicians not only educate their patients, but also positively impact the health of people all over the world. 
Quotes
• “We can have a myriad of issues, but we feel it when our hormones are out of whack and it really can disrupt our relationships, our productivity, our general wellbeing, our confidence, all of that.” (7:17-7:30 | Megan)
• “I give as much free education as I can out there on social media, because my thought process is the more you give, the more you receive.” (16:55-17:04 | Megan)
• “I had this misconception that professional women shouldn't be on social media.” (18:06-18:11 | Megan) 
• “In my groups, it is so fun when women start talking and bouncing ideas off of each other, and it's definitely empowering and empower was my word of the year last year because I felt like I needed some empowerment in my own life and business. And I wanted to be the source of helping women feel empowered.” (30:48-31:19 | Megan) 
 
Links
 
Connect with Megan Bliss:
Website: https://www.meganbliss.com/homepage
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganblissnp
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meganblissnp
New FB Group For Practitioners: https://www.facebook.com/groups/healthpractitioner/ 
YouTube Handle: @MeganBlissNP
Connect with Lara: 
Premium Digital Subscription Box: https://rightbrainrescue.com/p/medical-infographics-social-media-for-the-functional-practitioner
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Good Enough? Momentum, Flow and Self Saboteurs

“What I’m doing is good enough. Nope, not perfect, and I’m not really trying my best. But nobody wants perfection. We want relatableness, humility, authenticity, honesty. And that’s what this is,” shares host Dr. Lara Salyer. For today’s special one year anniversary episode, Dr. Lara looks back on the success and challenges of the past year and what she has learned about self sabotage, the myth of perfection, and reaching a flow state. 
 
Dr. Lara created the AHA method for reaching flow state, which stands for anchor, highlight, activate. This method helps combat burnout and fight self sabotage by activating flow enhancers and removing flow disruptors. Even though Dr. Lara helps others with achieving flow and maintaining momentum, she still struggles with her own self saboteurs like the perfectionism ingrained in her since childhood. Many physicians are overachievers and perfectionists, but the truth is that success comes from failure.
 
What you are doing does not have to be perfect to be good, because it never will be. What people really want is authenticity and as long as you are being true to your core values, you are doing good enough. 
Quotes
• “We have to get better at making progress instead of perfection.” (5:15-5:19 | Dr. Lara)
• “What I’m doing is good enough. Nope, not perfect, and I’m not really trying my best. But nobody wants perfection. We want relatableness, humility, authenticity, honesty. And that’s what this is.” (7:56-8:11 | Dr. Lara)
• “We think by fixing something minute it might increase the chance of success and that’s not true.” (12:04-12:10 | Dr. Lara)
• “What increases success is failing multiple times so you get the feedback and you can improve.” (12:11-12:18 | Dr. Lara) 
 
Links
 
Connect with Lara: 
Time Management Calendar download: https://healthinnate.activehosted.com/f/49
https://drlarasalyer.com/links 
https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Can AI Be the Cure for Burnout?

“The basic infrastructure in healthcare is still not functional from a technology perspective,” explains Mehdi Maghsoodnia, thought leader and CEO of 1Health.io. Mehdi studied artificial intelligence at Berkeley and Stanford and has been working in the world of high tech for over 20 years building the platforms that started it all. Today, Mehdi shares how artificial intelligence and advancements to the severely outdated software being used by healthcare systems can transform the industry and help keep physicians from burning out. 
 
Healthcare is at least a decade behind nearly every other industry in terms of technological advancements. 1Health.io is working to change that by providing a platform that shows physicians all the available tests for any given condition, in addition to information about which ones are covered by insurance and which tests are popular with their peers and other physicians. Software like this allows doctors a more streamlined process for tracking vital information like test results. 
 
Physicians today are trying to meet impossibly high levels of demand without the proper tools available to make this demand feasible. Artificial intelligence can help healthcare workers reduce their workload by taking care of administrative tasks and keeping their patients’ data organized. This streamlined process will free up time for physicians, keep things from falling through the cracks, and improve the overall care experience for patients. 
 
Quotes
• “The basic infrastructure in healthcare is still not functional from a technology perspective.” (8:31-8:37 | Mehdi) 
• “Getting access to test results is fundamental to making the right care decisions.” (11:35-11:41 | Mehdi)
• “What we're doing simply is just giving a platform to doctors that shows them for a given condition what are the latest tests for that condition, but also which ones are paid for by insurance and which ones are ordered most often by your peers and other physicians.” (15:33-15:50 | Mehdi)
 
Links
 
Connect with Mehdi Maghsoodnia:
Website: 1health.io
LinkedIn: LinLinkedin.com/in/mmaghsoodnia
Company LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/company/1health-io
Connect with Lara: 
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

4 Steps to Elation (How to Hire Your Perfect VA)

“You aren't going to rewire these limiting beliefs overnight. They will probably always be a part of your history and of your narrative, but you can recognize them and check them at the door,” explains host, Dr. Lara Salyer. You may think hiring a virtual assistant is not for you, because you believe no one can do your job as well as you can. However, when you find the perfect VA for you, they can catalyze tremendous growth and help reduce your risks of burnout.
 
Step one is to check your limiting beliefs at the door. Ask yourself if these beliefs are really true and recognize them for what they are. Next, make a list of redundancies and wishes that you notice popping up consistently. Then, begin writing down your Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs. Lastly, build your communication loops for necessary feedback. 
 
The right virtual assistant can help you grow your practice more than you could ever have imagined when trying to do it all on your own. Learn the four steps for hiring the perfect VA for you. 
 
Quotes
• “Oftentimes, practitioners will share the anxiety they have with me saying, I just don't trust anybody to do it as good as I can. And that's a limiting belief.” (4:00-4:12 | Dr. Lara) 
• “You aren't going to rewire these limiting beliefs overnight. They will probably always be a part of your history and of your narrative, but you can recognize them, and be aware, and check them at the door.” (6:09-6:21 | Dr. Lara)
• “Oftentimes when it doesn't work, the VA or the freelancer is the first one to step up and say, ‘Yeah, I can tell I don't think I'm quite fitting the description of this job. And I'm going to step down’.” (18:01-18:13 | Dr. Lara)
• “Don't be scared of outsourcing. Do not be scared of hiring staff. Do not fear that nobody can do it as good as you, quite the opposite. My assistants do things way better than I could have.” (21:50-22:05 | Dr. Lara) 
 
Links
Connect with Lara: 
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Shop: https://drlarasalyer.com/shop
Premium Subscription Box: https://drlarasalyer.com/shop/
Catalyst Kit: https://rightbrainrescue.com/p/catalyst_kit
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm