Frequently Asked Questions

Do You take insurance?

Unfortunately No. Billing insurance is extremely time consuming and expensive. In general most insurance companies do not cover naturopathic medical doctors or many of the treatments that we may recommend. There are a few insurance companies that offer out of network benefits. Then you may find the visit to be covered. You can request the super-bill from your visit with the CPT and diagnostic codes from the visit. I have several patients that choose to bill their insurance to see if they can get some reimbursement or credit towards their deductible.

Does Insurance cover testing ordered by a Naturopathic Doctor?

In the state of Utah Naturopathic Doctors can order lab and diagnostic testing within our scope of practice. In general as long as you go to a facility that takes your insurance then it depends on your coverage. There are some insurance companies that will not cover testing ordered by a Naturopathic Doctor. Medicare requires a prescriber number. Unfortunately in the state of Utah, Naturopathic Doctors are not covered providers for Medicare yet, so I am not able to have a prescriber number at this time. There are ways around this if you ask ahead of time and we can discuss options.

It is your responsibility to know where you can go to get testing done that your insurance allows. Depending on your insurance plan, you will be responsible for some testing or all of it until you meet your deductible. There are some specialty testing that may be recommended that are not covered by insurance.

What is Naturopathic medicine?

Naturopathic medicine is a distinctive philosophy of medicine that recognizes the integrity of the whole person. Naturopathic medicine is heir to the vitalistic tradition of medicine in the Western world, emphasizing the treatment of disease through the stimulation, enhancement, and support of the inherent healing capacity of the person. Methods of treatment are chosen to work with the patient’s vital force, respecting the intelligence of the natural healing process. The practice of Naturopathic medicine emerges from six underlying principles of healing. These principles are based on the objective observation of the nature of health and disease; and are continually reexamined in light of scientific analysis. It is these principles that distinguish Naturopathic medicine from other medical approaches.

What is a Naturopathic Doctor?

A Naturopathic doctor looks at the whole body as a system. They try to determine the cause of an issue and treat the underlying reason for a symptom or disease state. It merges conventional therapies with complementary and alternative medicine to give patients more opportunities to become healthier and have all options of treatment open to them.

What is Telemedicine?

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications technology to provide real-time health care to patients at a distance. It can be delivered using video-conferencing and audio communication using mobile phones, tablets and desktops. You can be anywhere, as long as you have a good internet signal for the video-conference. The service provider we use is Doxy.me.

How do i login for a telemedicine visit?

The day prior to your visit, you should have been sent an email with the link to the waiting room for Dr Sucher. Click on that link and you are logged in. Occasionally there are glitches that can hide you. Dr Sucher can see when you enter the waiting room. If she is running on time she may not acknowledge you until the time of the visit. If she is running behind she will message you to let you know that she is running late and how late that will be. If you have not had that communication, there may have been a disruption in the signal. Click out and log back in.

What sort of conditions do you treat?

Dr Sucher did her residency in Neuro-Endocrinology. This is the study of the interaction between the nervous system and the endocrine system (hormones), two of the major communication networks in the body. Towards the end of her residency she was also studying more about Neuro-Immunology to incorporate the other major communication network in the body. Majority of our practice is focused in two main areas though: Endocrinology and Chronic Infections. We do see a lot of gastrointestinal conditions as this directly relates to both of these areas of focus.

Pain management is another area of focus as related to anatomical issues. Dr Sucher still does manipulation therapy and is skilled in visceral manipulation to the point of not needing to do osteopathic manipulation. Alignment of the spine to addressing scar tissue throughout the body can help to reduce pain and aid in correcting physiological dysfunction in organs.

What makes someone a “lyme literate” doctor?

Lyme disease is one of the most frequently misdiagnosed tick-borne diseases. There are several stages of Lyme disease and once it becomes a chronic condition having a doctor who has extensive training in the treatment of Lyme is a must. A Lyme-literate medical doctor (LLMD) is a physician who is familiar with the vast range of symptoms that may indicate infection at various stages of the disease, as well as potential co-infections and other complexities. Dr Sucher treats Lyme disease based on the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) guidelines along with integrative therapies since 2005.

What do i do after a tick bite?

If you find a tick on you be careful in removing it as it buries it’s head under the skin and if you are not careful it’s head can pop off leaving it embedded in the skin. The best way to remove a tick is to use some tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Gently pull out the tick using a slow and steady upward motion. DO NOT twist or squeeze the tick too hard as this can cause its head to pop off. If possible stick the tick in a container in your freezer as you may want to test the tick. Wash your hands and the bite site. Contact your physician to let them know of the bite and take a picture of the area. In a few days to a week document any rash that might appear and let your physician know. If you develop any flu-like symptoms in the next few days to month it would be highly advisable to get tested for Lyme or other tick borne illness depending on your symptoms and area.

How do you treat lyme?

Dr Sucher follows the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) guidelines in the treatment of chronic Lyme disease. She does use various integrative therapies depending on each patients status and other issues going on. As most Lyme patients are aware Lyme disease is a bacterial infection, toxic illness and immune dysfunction all rolled into one. Everyone will present differently and have different issues ranging from other co-infections, toxic exposures, hormonal issues, cardiovascular issues, nutritional issues, or gastrointestinal issues. Depending on the patient, the treatment plan has to be customized to you…there is no one treatment protocol to fit all patients.

How do you approach hormone treatment?

We focus on the balance of hormones in the body along with aiding in the detoxification of hormones from the body. Understanding the interplay of hormones is necessary to help give balance back to the system. This can aid in enhancing fertility in some, to just getting a normal menstrual cycle, or to calming down the immune system to normalize an endocrine autoimmune disease like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

We use bio-identical hormones whenever possible. Bio-identical hormones come from a compound found in nature that has been biochemically altered to look exactly like the hormones found in your body. Unfortunately most of the commercially available drug hormones are actually mirror images of the hormones found in your body and in some are extremely inflammatory to dangerous.