What To Expect When You Book An Appointment
Let’s say you’ve been on your health journey for a while, furiously researching “Naturopath’s near me” and you stumble across Alchemy Natural Health. Firstly, a big welcome and a thank you for being here. You read through the content on the website and decide that I am the Naturopath for you… So, what’s next? Hybrid clinic… What on earth does that mean?
Let me explain…
Alchemy Natural Health is a hybrid clinic based in Adelaide, South Australia. The term ‘Hybrid’ in this instance refers to the fact that we offer online consultations, Australia-wide but also offer face-to-face consults in Stirling and Renmark in South Australia. Meaning, the clinic is accessible to everyone, no matter where you live.
Appointments booked online or directly through our Naturopath are automatically made as an online, telehealth appointment. However, if you would like to book an in person appointment, you can reach out to the clinic, or Kelly and we can arrange a time that best suits you - this clinic model allows us to be quite flexible with appointment times.
Okay great, so we get the meaning of hybrid clinic now. But if your appointment is online, does that mean YOU have to source the products and supplements that our clinic recommends?
Great question! Short answer is no, you don’t have to find your own supplements upon our Naturopath’s recommendations.
Long answer: Here at Alchemy Natural Health we use a number of online dispensaries, such as Vital.ly and Natural Script that act as a warehouse, stocking a variety of high quality, practitioner grade herbal medicines and nutritional supplements. Allowing us to prescribe the best products to our patients, no matter where they are (or what brand those products are). Once you have been prescribed certain products, you’ll receive an email from the dispensary notifying you that your script is ready for purchase. Products are then shipped promptly to wherever is convenient to you. Alternatively, as a herbalist, Kelly also has a small dispensary of liquid herbs for manufacturing personalised herbal blends and medicinal creams, which are posted out weekly to your location (did I mention we cover the postage of our bespoke blends?).
Utilising this online model also allows for quick refills of your scripts, as needed - Because there is nothing worse than running out of a supplement that is working really well for you and having to wait to get back into your practitioner for an appointment JUST for prescription refill (which can sometimes take weeks - depending on appointment availability).
But what about Pathology Testing? We know Naturopath’s can recommend blood and hair tests? Do you offer these and how can we organise them if we don’t see you in clinic?
We offer those too - we actually have quite a comprehensive list of testing options available.
I’m so glad you asked… Alchemy Natural Health has relationships with pathology centres around Australia which allow for high quality testing and results, no matter where you are. Nutripath is the main one we use here in our clinic. Our Naturopath recommends specific tests through the web portal (dependant on your health concerns) and then Nutripath send you an invoice for the tests. Once payment is received, they will post out a collection kit and collection instructions which you can take to your nearest blood collection centre. The collection centre will hand you back the tubes to post off to Nutripath (in an express post bag that is sent in your collection kit). Results are then loaded onto the web portal which can be accessed by your Naturopath in your follow-up appointment.
However, if you already have some recent blood tests, we also offer Pathology Reports for $70 in which our Naturopath reviews your pathology and generates an in-depth report for you - this is all conducted via email. An initial pathology review and report is also included in your Initial Appointment fee - we love a freebie! Subsequent pathology will be reviewed in your return appointments, but no report will be sent. If you would like a report from your return consult, we can absolutely send you one for a small additional fee.
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We are lucky that we’re in an age where technology allows us to practise in this hybrid manner. As a small business owner, it has been incredibly convenient for me to incorporate this style of practice in my clinic, as it has also for my patients. I often get patients commenting on how much more convenient it is to have that telehealth appointment when they are in-between kids naps or even on their lunch breaks. Meaning they get more time to focus on the important things and not having to allow extra time to sit in traffic on the way to a ‘bricks and mortar’ clinic.
I hope this has answered some of your questions and I look forward to seeing you in clinic (online, or in person).
** Photo by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash