FGI (Fowler Gyn International) Office Manager, Alice Yeates, recently reflected on the practice saying, “Isn’t it interesting, Dr. Fowler, how most of the new patients act a little suspicious about the practice on their first visit, but by the end of the visit they are totally at ease.” Then she added a very kind remark, “Dr. Fowler your are a master at enabling women to feel comfortable and secure with you and what a blessing it is. Look how many women have got their life back because of you.”

I wish there was a way to better connect with new prospective clients this but there are so many factors involved. First and foremost, FGI deals with issues in women’s health that are of the most inanimate in nature. Where else does a woman talk about the sensitivity and quality of her vagina? There is no way to create instant trust when dealing with questions like: Where exactly is the vaginal pain located? What factors trigger or exacerbate the pain? What happens during intercourse and sexual response including sexual wetness, vaginal caliber and length? Describe the vaginal secretions, discharge and odors? AND all this with a new provider, someone they have never met and often just found online.

Then there is the emotional sensitivity that the “V” problem evokes. Women’s lives are often in shambles over the detrimental lifestyle changes that the condition causes. Most of FGI clients have already seen multiple providers who have not been able to help them and they have began to feel despair. Some providers have even told them that their is nothing that can be done and they will just have to learn how to live with it.  This is the purpose that from the onset of opening FGI, I made it a testimony driven practice.  With the hundreds of testimonies posted, women cannot deny something different is happening at FGI. Asking patients to write testimonies would seem like a simple thing, but people are busy. Getting them to do so after this difficult problem is behind  them is challenging. They often have no need to return to FGI when they are fully cured. See the problem. However, if I approach them just before they have no reason to return, they are universally so grateful they are more than happy to write their testimony. It triggers their memory of how important is was for them to have read the testimonies and how it gave them hope to proceed with an FGI appointment. Now you can understand why so many women state in their testimonies that they are 80-90% better. This would be the last appointment before they are cured.

Moreover, the FGI website (fowlergyninternational.com) provides an Echat function where a prospective clients can contact one of FGI’s clients by email or phone and talk with her about her experience. There is no other practice that I am aware of that provides prospective patients with this degree of assurance and hope.

Some have reluctance to spend the money on a cross country trip for an out-of-pocket expense medical visit. The good news is that just the initial appointment requires in person visit, and subsequent visit at one year if needed. The 4th month and 8 month follow-up visits can be done virtually by collecting the specimens in the comfort of the clients own home and mailing it to FGI. This definitely reduces the financial sting. Additionally, for the in-office visits, many people have “out of network” insurance coverage which can cover 60-80% of the in-office visit charge. For this purpose, a Superbill is provided to every client who requests one. However, Medicare does not accept Superbills for “out-of-network” coverage.

FGI is the only practice in the country to my knowledge which has an associated CLIA approved laboratory dedicated to the analysis of the vaginal constituents at a complex level. This provides most of the critical information FGI needs to establish the individualized treatment protocol. Fixing vulvovaginal problems secondary to altered vaginal flora problems is not like treating something like high blood pressure where there are a number of medications to try. There are now over 50 FGI protocols. Selecting the correct one requires specific information on a number of factors.   Also, women find that the objective follow-up regarding the response to treatment seen in the Vaginal Fluid Analysis to be very gratifying.

Don’t be one of those women who consider it for several years before registering for an appointment at FGI. Once you have had symptoms for over 4 months, rarely do these conditions resolve on their own. Women who get these chronic vulvovaginal problem are believed to have an abnormality of their vaginal mucosal that makes it impossible for the vagina to self-correct aberrations in the microflora as it dose in most women. It’s a very infrequent situation; that’s why women with these conditions don’t know anybody else with the same problem. Be assured that you are no alone and we have helped thousands of women overcome these dreadful symptoms.