LivingMatrix in the News

“There are very few books I reread for pleasure, but Steingarten’s book is pure joy. I heartily relate to his intense compulsion and scientific curiosity behind each dish he encounters. One of the best chapters is about the lobster roll–primarily, the role of the lobster in that sandwich from conception through molting through its final moments of life. Tacos, baguettes, turducken, you name it. He answers questions about our food we would not think to ask, yet are inextricably linked to health and humanity.”

-Priya Kamani, M.D., founder and CEO of Living Matrix, a patient information management system for personalized and functional medicine which claims has established the largest database for personalized and functional medicine research in the world

Read the full article on Inc.com

Originaly published by Sifa’s Corner

Today I am bringing up a very touchy subject for me: Chronic Pain and Depression. If you are a long-term follower of Sifa’s Corner, you may have read my everyday struggle with chronic pain. I have been dealing with my pain for almost 11 years. It’s a very tough journey, to behonest, because chronic pain and depression come hand in hand. There are days when I want feel blank and there are days when I can manage myself- it’s an ongoing process. As many of you can relate to this situation of depression, with or without chronic pain, I have interviewed Dr. Kamani, who works with depression, chronic disease and helps to control it by Functional medicine.

So keep on reading, and share your story with us.

Can you please introduce yourself to the readers?

My name is Dr. Priya Kamani, and I am the founder and CEO of LivingMatrix, the fastest-growing patient information management system for personalized and functional medicine. I earned my MBA from Wharton, trained in pediatrics at University of California San Francisco and received my medical degree from the University of Colorado.

I have been troubled by our current medical system’s inability to effectively address chronic disease. I was inspired to found LivingMatrix after I discovered Functional Medicine and using the principles of functional medicine I made profound changes in my own health was able to work with my doctor to stop several prescription medications. I went from having difficulty thinking and working due to brain fog to having enough energy to finding a start-up, and at an age that defies the norm. Through LivingMatrix we are able to help practitioners effectively work with their patients and often achieve life-changing outcomes.

What is categorized as a Mental Disease in plain words?

Mental Illnesses are those that cause a significant change in people’s thinking, mood, feelings/emotions and behavior and may alter people’s ability to function on a daily basis, lose interest in activities or their ability to relate to others. These issues could be short-term but in many cases, these issues continue and become a chronic problem.

What is depression? What are the common causes?

Depression may be linked to genetics and stressful events in our lives like grief may trigger depression. Sometimes depression can be a side-effect of medications or may be caused by an underlying chronic health condition. LivingMatrix found that in a subset of people body inflammation can drive neuroinflammation and lead to anxiety and depression. That means that even a person who doesn’t subscribe to having moods or effects related to a stressful life can have their anxiety or depression driven purely by physical mechanisms involving inflammation.

And how does someone know that they are suffering from depression and they need help?

The most common symptoms are feelings of hopelessness, unhappiness, low energy and reduced motivation. Daily activities become difficult and in severe cases, people may not be able to function at all. But there are several hard-to-recognize symptoms as well, like decreased appetite, exhaustion, trouble sleeping, and trouble concentrating.

What is Functional Medicine?

Functional medicine is a personalized, systems-oriented model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease. The primary drivers of the chronic disease epidemic are the daily interactions among an individual’s genetics, environment and lifestyle choices. Functional medicine addresses these underlying causes of disease and equips healthcare practitioners to help their patients manage this complex, interconnected web.

How can it help in depression and chronic disease?

Functional medicine practitioners take a holistic approach to assessing the patient and look for the underlying root cause that may have triggered the issues. Often, they can effectively address and treat the underlying issues that lead to depression by modifying diet and lifestyle. While they will use prescription medicine when needed, they are not interventions of first resort.

Do you have any message to share for the readers who are battling chronic disease and depression?

You are not alone and we encourage to seek help. Half of all Americans have a chronic condition and 25% fall into the multiple conditions category. Many complain of anxiety or depression and often can be helped by addressing their underlying issues. Anxiety and Depression even on their own are often responsive to dietary and lifestyle interventions. I suggest seeking out a Functional Medicine practitioner who can do a thorough evaluation.

Originaly published by Digital Journal

Dr. Priya Kamani was a skeptic of functional medicine, until she was diagnosed with a chronic disease. Doctors kept on prescribing medication to her, until she was on eight different prescriptions and an inhaler. She found herself sluggish, unable to do her work quickly. In fact, she would spend up to 10-14 hours a day to finish the job that normally would take her 8 hours to complete.

She then discovered functional medicine and she was soon was able to decrease her prescription load from eight prescription medications to now two. Dr. Kamani determined that the big problem facing functional medicine was that it was a time-intensive bespoke approach and did not have a tool where nurses and doctors could access a global data network to refine their approach.

Her company, LivingMatrix, recently introduced a clinician-designed functional medicine platform that has been developed with over 600 licensed doctors and practitioners in eighteen countries. She explains what the platform is and the challenges faced by women in healthcare technology face, with Digital Journal.

Digital Journal: What is functional medicine?

Dr. Priya Kamani: Functional medicine is a personalized, systems-oriented model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease. The primary drivers of the chronic disease epidemic are the daily interactions among an individual’s genetics, environment and lifestyle choices. Functional medicine addresses these underlying causes of disease and equips healthcare practitioners to help their patients manage this complex, interconnected web using diet, lifestyle, nutrition support and if needed medications.

DJ: Is the idea of functional medicine widely accepted by the medical profession?

Dr. Kamani: Increasingly. Our partner, the Institute for Functional Medicine is the global leader in functional medicine education and trains thousands or practitioners every year. A significant number of functional medicine practitioners are medical doctors as well – they have gone through rigorous training in functional medicine so they can treat their patients in all manners of effectiveness.

Functional Medicine is effective in the treatment of chronic conditions, and it’s our intention with our partners to catalyze, build, expand and publish the evidence base with the Practitioner Research Network we launched in May 2018.

Originaly published on My Intriguing Insights 

Did you know that June is Men’s Health Month?

I recently conducted an interview with Dr. Priya Kamani, Founder and CEO of LivingMatrix, to gain a better understanding of how males are impacted by depression and anxiety.

Here’s what she had to say:

Q: What are some of the most common symptoms exhibited by males who suffer from depression and anxiety?

A: Men who are depressed are less likely than women to express sadness and are more likely to hide their emotions. They may seem more angry or irritable, lose interest in work and family, and may engage in high-risk activities. Also common are physical symptoms, especially in those who have underlying chronic conditions.

Q: What are some underlying causes of mental illness in men?

A: Family history or genetic predisposition, stressful life events, trauma, and abuse are what we typically associate with depression. Physical and mental health are often considered separately, but they, too, are interconnected via our physiology.

LivingMatrix has identified that people with multiple chronic conditions (25 percent of the US population) are at a significantly higher risk for anxiety/depression, and up to 50 percent of them suffer from it – particularly those with immune or inflammatory conditions. Inflammation in the body can lead to inflammation of the brain, which can manifest as anxiety and depression.

Additionally, people with chronic disease are treated with drugs that may themselves have anxiety or depression as a side-effect. A recent study published in JAMA found that 37.2 percent of the U.S. population are taking medications that have depression as a potential adverse effect.

Q:  How can we help the men in our lives who suffer from depression or anxiety?

A: The first step in helping is understanding the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and recognizing when a loved one might need to address a mental health condition. Anxiety and depression are difficult topics to broach, and there is a stigma associated with them. As friends or family members, we can help our men understand that there may be an underlying physical issue or a side-effect from a medication that may be causing or worsening their symptoms. This realization could give them the push they need to get help.

Q: What is the Functional Medicine movement?

A: Functional Medicine addresses chronic disease while looking at each of us as individuals. As a science, Functional Medicine is a systems biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root causes of disease. Each symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness.

A diagnosis can be the result of more than one cause. For example, depression can be caused by many different factors, including inflammation. Likewise, inflammation may lead to many different diagnoses, including depression. The precise manifestation of each cause depends on the individual’s genes, environment, and lifestyle; only treatments that address the underlying cause will have a lasting benefit beyond symptom suppression.

Q: How can Functional Medicine be used to treat men who suffer from a mental illness?

A: The Functional Medicine evaluation is a comprehensive, whole-person view into what may be going on.  The Functional Medicine practitioner will use this comprehensive look to work jointly with the patient to identify the underlying triggers and issues. They may also perform lab tests to delineate the root cause further and will work in partnership with the patient to create a Functional Medicine prescription that includes lifestyle interventions, like improving sleep hygiene or stress reduction techniques, which have been shown to be effective in improving symptoms.

Q: What is LivingMatrix? What was your primary goal when you founded this platform?

A: LivingMatrix is the leading cloud-based, clinician-designed, Functional Medicine platform, helping over 600 Functional Medicine practitioners in 18 countries engage patients in high-quality, personalized and therapeutic partnerships that effectively address chronic conditions at scale. I founded LivingMatrix to help practitioners and patients get the best health outcomes possible.

Q:  What advice would you give to men who are struggling with mental health issues?

A: You are not alone. These issues are widespread, and you owe it to yourself to get evaluated. Find out if you have an underlying condition or if your medication(s) may be contributing to feeling the way you do.

Q: Anything else you think my audience should know about treating depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues?

A: It may not all be in your head, as physical issues could be contributing. There is hope and help, so please reach out.

RICHMOND, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–LivingMatrix, a health information technology company dedicated to broadening access to functional medicine by enhancing the operating efficiency of practitioners, today announced the launch of the LivingMatrix Practitioner Research Network (LM-PRN), a practice-based research network developed to advance the study and research of functional approaches to chronic disease.

“It is essential to strengthen and grow the evidence base to demonstrate the effectiveness of functional medicine in identifying and treating the root cause of chronic conditions and diseases. Proving both the clinical and economic value for patients is also critical.”

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The LM-PRN allows practitioners to be efficiently matched with research organizations based on study needs and applies standardized outcome measures to further build the published evidence base for the application of functional medicine in the treatment of chronic disease.

“Though functional medicine is arguably one of the fastest-growing areas of medicine and is well-established as a science-based clinical approach, we recognize the opportunity to expand and advance the published evidence base for personalized and functional medicine,” said Priya Kamani, Founder and CEO of LivingMatrix. “Our goal is to match seasoned practitioners with research organizations and industry partners to make the research process efficient and effective.”

“This is a critical moment for functional medicine, as our innovators and thought leaders work to shape healthcare in the United States and around the world,” said Amy R. Mack, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). “It is essential to strengthen and grow the evidence base to demonstrate the effectiveness of functional medicine in identifying and treating the root cause of chronic conditions and diseases. Proving both the clinical and economic value for patients is also critical.”

A Game-Changing Tool to Further the Field of Functional Medicine

The LivingMatrix Practitioner Research Network will play an integral role in catalyzing the evidence base to demonstrate functional medicine’s effectiveness in identifying and treating the root cause of chronic conditions and diseases—proving both the clinical and economic value for patients.

Through the LM-PRN, practitioners can:

• Access clinical trials sponsored by industry partners advancing functional medicine evidence
• Find expert assistance in the development and publication of case reports from their practice
• Access a highly-customizable research platform to execute a wide range of study designs and partner-specific study protocols
• Innovate how real-world data is collected and presented to drive utility to practitioners and patients
• Track improvements of overall patient health status and clinical course with validated research instruments
• Promote expert-credentialed status on the LivingMatrix platform

The LM-PRN addresses challenges to effective research by providing the efficient identification of suitable practices and practitioners based on study needs; practitioner adherence to the functional medicine model; standardized data collection and built-in patient-reported outcomes measures, such as PROMIS-10; and customizable options for study forms and reports—all on a secure, HIPAA-compliant platform.

An Updated Platform for the Specific Needs of Functional Medicine Practitioners

In tandem with the debut of LM-PRN, the LivingMatrix platform has been enhanced to facilitate the collection and visualization of objective measures, metrics and diagnostics for clinical care and for research, including:

• Incorporation of PROMIS-10 Global Health Measures into the application
• Trending and visualization of the Multiple Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) scores to provide objective measures of patient progress over time
• Tracking and visualization of vitals and key metrics like weight, BMI and blood pressure
• A medication and supplement timeline that allows easy visual tracking of medications and supplements
• Lab integration beta, which allows practices to order labs and receive results through LivingMatrix

“Evidence-based and clinically proven, functional medicine is driving critical systems changes,” added Mack. “We are enthusiastic about the potential for the LivingMatrix Practitioner Research Network to contribute significantly to this work.”

Research organizations or industry participants interested in conducting research studies utilizing the LM-PRN or applying for membership can contact Dr. Priya Kamani at priya@livingmatrix.com.

Practitioners interested in joining the network can visit www.livingmatrix.com/lm-prn.

About Functional Medicine

Functional medicine is a personalized, systems-oriented model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease. The primary drivers of the chronic disease epidemic are the daily interactions among an individual’s genetics, environment and lifestyle choices. Functional medicine addresses these underlying causes of disease and equips healthcare practitioners to help their patients manage this complex, interconnected web. For more information about IFM, please visit www.functionalmedicine.org.

About LivingMatrix

LivingMatrix is the leading cloud-based, clinician-designed functional medicine platform, helping over 600 functional medicine practitioners in 18 countries engage patients in high-quality, personalized, therapeutic partnerships to effectively address chronic conditions at scale. The LivingMatrix Timeline and Functional Medicine Matrix deliver a unique engagement process, and visual patterns provide a comprehensive picture of a patient’s health and conditions over a lifetime. Patients are able to gain back as many as three office visits, so practitioners can focus on building the relationship and/or treatment, not a manual intake process. The result is a faster time to healthy, life-changing outcomes and an increase in patient referrals for the practice. Learn more at livingmatrix.com.

“It hooked me in its effort to answer one single question: ‘Why does my foot hurt?’ The path to that answer, like all health-related journeys, combines the physical, mental, spiritual and cultural realms. For me, it was less about the activity of running and more of an organic odyssey about overcoming perceived limitations and self-imposed barriers to tap into your inner super-human.”

-Priya Kamani, M.D., founder and CEO of Living Matrix, a patient information management system for personalized and functional medicine which claims has established the largest database for personalized and functional medicine research in the world

Read the full article on Inc.com

Working to find the root cause of chronic disease requires Functional Medicine practitioners to gather and organize a lot more information about their patients than other providers do. Once gathered, the model relies on two powerful information organization tools, the Functional Medicine Timeline and Matrix, that enable practitioners to decipher the clues provided by patient symptoms, health histories, and biomarkers.

“We are thrilled to announce the launch of a remarkable application that helps integrate core IFM tools such as the Timeline and Matrix into the Functional Medicine Operating System in a unique and user-friendly way. The LivingMatrix application exemplifies how creative innovators who understand both Functional Medicine and the needs of today’s practitioners can build something exciting to engage patients in telling a complete and clear story of their health history,” says IFM CEO Laurie Hofmann, MPH. She adds “Designed to assist with the intake process and to improve the organization and interpretation of patient data, the LivingMatrix is the kind of tool that can help to streamline clinical practice and advance the adoption of Functional Medicine throughout the healthcare community.”

Using the LivingMatrix application, Functional Medicine practitioners may now invite patients to access the library of IFM intake forms online and can follow each patient’s progress in completing the forms through the application’s provider dashboard.

Once completed, the LivingMatrix automatically applies the logic devised by IFM to map each patient’s information into the Functional Medicine Timeline and Matrix. This mapping process is expected to save practitioners hours of valuable time each month. The tool also fills a significant void left by conventional electronic health records by allowing practitioners to edit and add information to each patient’s health narrative over time within the Functional Medicine context supported by LivingMatrix.

The LivingMatrix tool will be unveiled to practitioners at IFM’s Annual International Conference in Austin, Texas, being held on May 28-30, 2015.

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For More Information: www.functionalmedicine.org

Contact: emilycarlyle@fxmed.com

Phone: 253.661.3011

About The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM): IFM is the global leader in Functional Medicine. The mission of IFM is to serve the highest expression of individual health through the widespread adoption of Functional Medicine as the standard of care.

LivingMatrix is a Richmond, Virginia-based health information technology firm dedicated to broadening access to Functional Medicine by enhancing the operating efficiency of practitioners. For additional information, please visit livingmatrix.com.

Functional Medicine is a personalized, systems-oriented model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease. The primary drivers of the chronic disease epidemic are the daily interactions among an individual’s genetics, environment, and lifestyle choices. Functional Medicine addresses these underlying causes of disease and equips healthcare practitioners to help their patients manage this complex, interconnected web. For more information about IFM, please visit www.functionalmedicine.org.

Meanwhile, managing patient paperwork is time consuming for physicians who are already pressed for time. This motivated a company called LivingMatrix (livingmatrix.com) to partner with the Institute for Functional Medicine to develop digital versions of the functional timeline and matrix, designed to “streamline and automate the paper intake process.”

This is how it works: Before their first appointment with a functional-medicine practitioner, patients receive an invitation to fill out an online health questionnaire. The cloud-based software then automatically maps the information into the timeline and matrix. This enables the doctor to review the patient’s answers and meet him at the first appointment with the beginnings of fully populated documents in hand, prepared to dive deeper into his health issues and discuss individualized treatment approaches.

Priya Kamani, MD, is the CEO and founder of LivingMatrix. She was motivated to make the tools more widely available to other physicians after her first encounters with functional medicine as a patient.

“I have had my own fairly significant health issues and, in spite of being a physician myself, was resigned to suffer through them — until I started working with functional-medicine practitioners,” she explains.

“Seeing the amazing results led me to learn more about functional medicine. During the IFM training I was able to appreciate the power of the tools and was inspired to help take them to the next level. By digitizing them, practitioners are able to save time and help more patients.”

The digital version of the functional-medicine matrix won’t replace the initial interview — the physician will still need to ask follow-up questions to get a full picture of the factors playing into the patient’s health struggles — but it will allow doctor and patient to hit the ground running rather than starting cold at their first appointment. And if more patients with health struggles are being treated as whole persons by functional practitioners, rather than being reduced to their symptoms and diagnoses, that could make a lot of people feel a whole lot better.

Read the full article on ExperienceLife.com