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frequently asked questions

QUESTION 1
Where are you located?

QUESTION 2
What are your office hours?

QUESTION 3
Do you make house calls or travel to other locations?

QUESTION 4
Do you accept insurance?

QUESTION 5
How confidential are your services?

QUESTION 6

What types of patients do you normally see?

QUESTION 7
Can an Existence Health physician be my primary care doctor?

QUESTION 8

What type of laboratory do you use and is it CLIA certified?

QUESTION 9
Predictive medicine sounds complex – will I understand it and be able to benefit from it?

QUESTION 10

What diseases do you test for?

QUESTION 11
What if I only want screening for a single disease?

QUESTION 12

What type of genetic testing does Existence Health provide?

QUESTION 13
If I received a genetic test from a practice other than Existence Health or a company other than Existence Genetics, can Existence Health physicians still counsel me on the results?

QUESTION 14

Do you provide sequencing of a single gene?

QUESTION 15

I think I have a rare disease and want to find out if I do. Is your service right for me?

QUESTION 16
I’m interested in learning more about predictive medicine and your services. Where can I find more information?

dna helix

ANSWER 1
Where are you located?


Existence Health has offices in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. We plan to open offices in other cities, including New York, in the near future.

ANSWER 2
What are your office hours?


Existence Health physicians are available Monday through Saturday during normal business hours by appointment only. We do not accept walk-ins.

ANSWER 3
Do you make house calls or travel to other locations?

Our physicians are available to provide house calls throughout California. Existence Health physicians are also available for both interstate and international travel. All travel outside of California is dependent upon applicable state and country laws concerning the practice of medicine.

ANSWER 4
Do you accept insurance?

Existence Health does not accept any form of insurance.

ANSWER 5
How confidential are your services?

Existence Health prides itself on maintaining the highest level of confidentiality and privacy for our patients. We have enacted strict guidelines to ensure that our patients’ genetic information is fully protected from any unauthorized access.

ANSWER 6
What types of patients do you normally see?

While we don’t have any standard type of patient, we normally see healthy individuals who are interested in protecting their health and wellness and enhancing their longevity. We routinely see people from around the world and in every age group, including newborns, children, adults, couples thinking about starting a family, and older individuals.

ANSWER 7
Can an Existence Health physician be my primary care doctor?

Existence Health physicians are all specialists who practice predictive medicine and do not act as primary care physicians. While we are happy to work with your primary care doctor in order to provide him or her with your full predictive medicine assessment, we do not provide primary care services ourselves.

ANSWER 8
What type of laboratory do you use and is it CLIA certified?

All our laboratory testing is conducted in an accredited facility that routinely provides clinical testing for hospitals and medical practices throughout the United States. And yes, the laboratory we use is CLIA certified (CLIA Identification # 05D0713514).

ANSWER 9
Predictive medicine sounds complex – will I understand it and be able to benefit from it?

Yes you will! The physicians at Existence Health “take the genetics out of genetics” and provide counseling in a very straightforward, easy to understand format. We believe that it is our responsibility to speak in a language you understand rather than expecting you to understand genetics or medicine. Everything we do is focused on empowering you, the individual, with as much useful information as possible.

ANSWER 10
What diseases do you test for?

We utilize an advanced, proprietary DNA Chip that allows us to assess hundreds of diseases at a single time. We are able to asses your risk for common diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease (including heart attacks and high cholesterol levels), stroke, obesity, diabetes, infertility, multiple sclerosis, and hundreds more. We can also assess whether you carry or are likely to be affected by hundreds of rare diseases, including Tay-Sachs, Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Disease, as well as preventable causes of sudden death.

ANSWER 11
What if I only want screening for a single disease?

Existence Health’s services are primarily panel-based, meaning that all you have to do is choose the panel that makes sense for you, such as the Woman’s Health Panel, Men’s Health Panel, or Newborn Panel. Each panel assesses a large number of genes that are relevant to the specific individual, making it a much more targeted and efficient approach to genetic screening. However, if you do prefer to be screened for only a single disease, such as Alzheimer’s, yes, we do provide that service as well.

ANSWER 12
What type of genetic testing does Existence Health provide?


Existence Health primarily utilizes a state-of-the-art proprietary DNA Chip designed by Dr. Brandon Colby and owned by Existence Genetics. This DNA Chip is highly accurate and capable of providing not only risk and carrier information for hundreds of diseases at a single time, but also incredibly useful insights into what preventions, based on the individual’s genes, will be most effective and which ones should be avoided. All of our services are panel-based, meaning that you, in consultation with your Existence Health physician, simply choose the panel that is most appropriate to you.

ANSWER 13
If I received a genetic test from a practice other than Existence Health or a company other than Existence Genetics, can Existence Health physicians still counsel me on the results?

Dr. Colby has spent years perfecting the DNA Chip-based genetic testing utilized by Existence Health and Existence Genetics. While our own services are held to the highest standards, we cannot assure that any other testing conforms to our requirements, nor can we truly know how any test we did not administer was processed or analyzed. Because of this, Existence Health physicians do not utilize any tests besides our own, nor do we provide counseling on any results not obtained from the Nexus DNA Chip.


ANSWER 14

Do you provide sequencing of a single gene?

We utilize a DNA Chip for all of our testing that is much more cost-effective and time-efficient for comprehensive predictive medicine screening than traditional gene sequencing. We usually do not provide gene sequencing services.

ANSWER 15
I think I have a rare disease and want to find out if I do. Is your service right for me?

Existence Health provides genetic screening for hundreds of common and rare diseases. While our service is excellent for detecting individuals who are at risk for common diseases (such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, obesity, multiple sclerosis, and many others) and those who are carriers of or affected by many rare diseases (such as Tay Sachs, Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Disease, and preventable causes of sudden death), DNA Chip-based genetic screening is not always appropriate for ruling out the presence of a suspected rare disease. Because of this, if you believe you or a family member already has a rare disease and you want to determine conclusively whether it exists, you should consult with your primary care physician or a genetic counselor at a medical center near you.

ANSWER 16
I’m interested in learning more about predictive medicine and your services. Where can I find more information?

One of the best ways to learn more about predictive medicine and how it can keep you and your family healthy throughout your lives is by reading Dr. Colby’s book, Outsmart Your Genes, which is available at Amazon and your local bookstore. And don’t worry, the book is written in very straightforward, nontechnical language so that it is accessible to everyone, whether or not you have any background in genetics or medicine.

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