How to Choose a Practitioner
Because the term is not protected, the practitioner is the entire decision. This page is the checklist, and it applies to Dr. Massinople exactly as much as to anyone else.
Verify the license first
Before anything else, establish what they actually are. Every US state publishes a searchable register, and it takes about two minutes.
- MD or DO is a licensed physician. Check the state medical board, and check board certification separately through the relevant certifying body.
- NP or PA is a licensed clinician working within a defined scope, which varies by state.
- ND is a naturopathic doctor, a different training route, and licensed in only some states.
- Health coach, nutritionist, functional medicine practitioner on their own are not licenses and may represent anything from substantial training to a short online course.
None of these is disqualifying in itself. What matters is that you know which one you are dealing with, and that they are open about it.
Questions worth asking on the call
- "What is your license, and where can I verify it?" A good answer is immediate and specific.
- "What would make you refer me elsewhere?" Anyone who cannot answer this does not have clear limits.
- "How do you decide which tests to run?" Listen for whether results would change a decision.
- "Do you sell supplements, and do you profit from them?" Selling them is not automatically wrong. Evading the question is.
- "What does this cost in total over six months, realistically?" You should get a range, not a deflection.
- "What results should I expect, and by when?" Honest answers include uncertainty.
- "Will you communicate with my other doctors?" The answer should be yes.
Good signs
- They ask more than they tell on the first call
- They say "I do not know" about something
- They want your previous results before suggesting new tests
- They talk about sleep, food and movement before products
- They screen you out when you are not a fit
- Pricing is published or stated plainly when asked
Walk away if
- A large test panel is proposed before a proper history
- You are told to stop prescribed medication without your prescriber involved
- A package of several thousand dollars is required before anyone knows what is wrong
- The diagnosis arrives before the investigation
- Supplements are the core of the plan rather than an occasional adjunct
- There is pressure to decide today
- Certainty. Nobody honest is certain about this much
One more thing
Being likeable is not the same as being competent, and this field selects fairly strongly for likeable. Someone who listens well, validates how you feel and makes you feel understood after years of not being heard is doing something genuinely valuable. It is still not evidence that their clinical reasoning is sound.
Use the checklist, not the feeling.
