Doctors and patients have both noticed the same obstacle to good medical care. Not enough time. To address this, we offer a hybrid practice design which straddles the fence between the old-school medical office that takes insurance for office visits, but gives only a few minutes for each visit, and concierge medicine, which charges a membership fee to join a practice but offers boutique medicine.
This office doesn’t accept any insurance programs for office visits but also doesn’t charge a fee to join the practice. This allows us to schedule more time for visits than your standard medical office that takes insurance. Medications, lab testing, radiology exams, and physical therapy services are almost always covered by your insurance program at your in-network rates as long as you have those services performed at an in-network facility, but we always recommend that you check with your insurance program to confirm your coverages before coming.
We provide you with a superbill which you can submit to your insurance. Insurance coverage varies, so again, check with your insurance company first. Office fees vary depending on the practitioner chosen. Providers include Steven Phillips MD, Kelly Melchionno APRN, and Caitlin Doody APRN. Both NPs have been extensively trained by Dr. Phillips and are compassionate and smart.
If you’ve made an appointment that you can’t keep, please contact us immediately. Failure to provide advance notice will result in a charge. For cancellation of a new patient appointment, we require 72 hours advance notice and for cancellation of a follow up appointment we require 24 hours advance notice.
Although this office has traditionally provided allopathic care, we encourage a multimodal approach, as answers don’t always come in a pill. Consequently, we work closely with integrative practitioners to get our patients well.
Our Past, Present, & Plans for the Future
The practice opened in 1996. Since then we’ve been slowly unraveling the complexitites of the chronic illness which has been repeatedly demonstrated in patients with Lyme, bartonella, and associated zoonotic infections.
These illnesses are among the most enigmatic and hotly debated in all of medicine, the unfortunate result of which is that these chronically ill patients have become an exceedingly disenfranchised patient group.
It’s been difficult but very gratifying to help patients in a very material way.
Dr. Steven Phillips
Steven E. Phillips, MD is a Yale-trained, world-renowned expert on zoonotic infections who has treated over 20,000 patients from over 20 countries. He is well-published in the peer-reviewed medical literature, acclaimed for his work in linking chronic diseases to occult infections, and successfully treating some of medicine’s most complex cases. He specializes in the management of zoonotic infections, which include Lyme, Bartonellosis, Babesiosis, and other vector-borne diseases. Additionally, he has served as an expert for the states of CT, NY, RI, and VT, providing testimony during their respective public hearings, which resulted in changes to existing healthcare laws. Phillips has lectured at numerous medical schools, societies, and hospitals, is an in-demand guest for TV and other media, and has been a longstanding public face of the Lyme Disease epidemic.
He is also one of a handful of physicians from the United States invited to provide expert testimony at the Infectious Diseases Society of America hearing in Washington, D.C. in 2009. His written testimony for that hearing is eighty-one pages long with 226 medical references, and remains one of the most comprehensive reviews on the topic of complex, late-stage Lyme Disease.
With over two decades of experience in successfully treating patients with zoonotic infection, he has been a powerful influencer in the medical community, lecturing that inflammatory and rheumatic conditions can be caused by bartonella, Lyme, and other infections. He is currently spearheading a drug development effort to bring public a durable, effective treatment for some of these infections, which will hopefully change how we treat a range of rheumatologic and neurologic illnesses. To this end, Phillips was awarded the 2018 Emerging Leader grant for $100,000 by the Bay Area Lyme Foundation and sits on their scientific advisory board.
Caitlin Doody
Caitlin Doody is a Board Certified family nurse practitioner. She earned her Masters’ degree from Pace University, her nursing degree from Mount Saint Vincent College, and her bachelor’s degree from University of Hartford. Her clinical background is hallmarked by immersive neurology experience, working at both New York-Presbyterian hospital and NYU Langone Medical Center, in their respective neurology departments. She was introduced to Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses while working as an infusion specialist. It was though this one-on-one experience with chronic Lyme patients that she became painfully aware of how these chronic infections can cause debilitating illness, which ultimately crystallized her decision to specialize in vector-borne infections in the pursuit of helping these patients. Currently, Caitlin is also pursuing her Ph.D. in nursing research at Pace University, with a focus on the patient’s experience when being diagnosed and treated, or remaining undiagnosed and marginalized as the case is all too often, for Lyme and other vector-borne infections. While working on her Ph.D., she is also seeing patients full time.
Kelly Melchionno
Kelly Melchionno is a board certified family nurse practitioner, a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, who has over 16 years of bedside experience. She earned her Masters of Science in Nursing with honors from Sacred Heart University, her BSN from The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Ramapo College of NJ. Having worked in a variety of challenging clinical settings, the bulk of her prior medical career has been engaged in medical intensive care units (ICU), where she maintained her critical care nursing certification. Kelly draws from her extensive ICU patient experience and deep fund of medical knowledge to efficiently perform the necessary rapid risk-benefit assessments that enable her to provide seamless, proficient, and compassionate medical care. When she’s not treating patients with complex vector-borne zoonotic infections and preventing chronic illness, she can be found with her husband and their two adorable, and very energetic, young boys. Kelly loves hiking, gardening, playing tennis, cooking, and spending quality time with friends and family.
Our Colleague: Good Earth Medical
Dr. Veena Verma-Dzik, ND, FIAMA
Dr. Veena Verma-Dzik, ND, FIAMA is a board certified Naturopathic Physician who received her doctorate from the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine. Some of her specialties include Lyme disease and other vector-borne infections, women’s health, ADD/ADHD, GI conditions, MTHFR, mood imbalances, allergies, fatigue, and hormonal imbalances. Each patient she sees receives personalized, individual care involving research-based treatments and therapies from her own clinical experience and success. The therapies she prescribes include herbal medicines, nutritional therapeutics, homeopathic medicines, and low dose immunotherapy. To obtain an accurate diagnosis, although she makes use of in depth functional laboratory testing and analysis, Dr. Verma also practices the art of medicine–She takes the time to listen to her patients. Her success lies not only in identifying and treating the physiological cause of each individual’s condition, but also in spending the requisite time to get to know her patients, educating them on how to make effective lifestyle changes and providing the insight and support each person needs to maintain those changes. Her focus is to help her patients achieve both physical and emotional health, as well as to prevent future illness. Capable of integrating her therapies with a conventional medical treatment plan, Dr. Verma’s extensive experience allows her to bridge the gaps between these two approaches. Dr. Verma is a nature, health and fitness lover. Along with her physical, mental and spiritual health, quality time with her two children, husband and animals is important to her.