Home » Frequently Asked Questions
“Chronic diseases and conditions- such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity and arthritis— are among the most common, costly, and preventable of all health problems.” — www.cdc.gov
Unfortunately, no. Sparkle Health does not provide full conventional primary care services. We are not contracted with insurance companies and do not provide urgent care or 24/7 evening and weekend coverage. You must have a primary care doctor with whom you can consult in the event of an emergency or urgent health concern. At your request and upon completion of an Authorization to Release Medical Records, we can communicate with your PCP about your care at Sparkle Health.
If you have a serious health problem that requires immediate attention, call 911 or have someone take you to the nearest emergency room. If you notice an adverse effect from one of the components of your Sparkle Health treatment plan, discontinue its use and send a portal message to Dr. Mercuro.
Dr. Mercuro requires an in-person visit for the initial examination and at least once per year thereafter. She is licensed in both MA and NH and can see you via Zoom or telemedicine (phone) if you are a resident of MA or NH for all other visits.
No. Dr. Mercuro requires a minimum of one visit per 6-month period to prescribe medication for you.
Sparkle Health does not accept insurance. We work directly with you, not your insurance company, to deliver exceptional care. All fees are settled directly between you and Sparkle Health.
An itemized receipt including diagnostic and treatment codes is available to all non-Medicare patients upon request. Please note that our office has opted-out of the Medicare program. Medicare patients may not submit claims to Medicare for services rendered at Sparkle Health. This includes standard Medicare and all Medicare Advantage plans.
Our fee for a one-hour new patient consultation with Dr. Mercuro is $529.
A $100 deposit is collected at the time you schedule your first appointment and the remaining $429 is due at the time of service. You may reschedule this visit if you provide a minimum of 48 business hours’ notice. If you fail to cancel/reschedule within the minimum timeframe, the deposit is non-refundable. Additional costs will vary depending on which services you elect to use. Pricing for all services can be found here: https://sparklehealthnh.com/pricing/
Physician visits are often paid for by HSA/FSA accounts. We recommend you contact your HSA/FSA administrator directly to confirm coverage prior to your initial visit. Itemized receipts including diagnostic and treatment codes are available for all visits with Dr. Mercuro.
Sparkle Health provides access to advanced lab testing to help find the underlying cause of annoying symptoms and identify potential health risks. Testing is personalized to you based on your goals and the findings from your initial evaluation. Insurance coverage varies by policy and is specific to your particular contract. We suggest you call the Member Services number on the back of your insurance card for confirmation of your laboratory services benefits. Most insurance plans cover labs done by major national laboratories. If your insurance contract requires you to use a particular facility (i.e., Quest, LabCorp), you must inform us in advance. Sometimes there is partial coverage for specialty labs and other times those labs are not covered at all. In these cases, you will be charged a fee directly from the lab. Some labs offer discounted testing if you elect to prepay a deposit. We make every effort to advise you of the additional lab fees and give you the opportunity to choose which tests you feel comfortable paying. You are under no obligation to purchase any specialty testing. Should lab results indicate a need for additional testing, you will be directed to continue care with your primary care physician, relevant specialist or continue to work with Sparkle Health.
Yes, lab results are posted to the patient portal at Sparkle Health. Dr. Mercuro’s comments can sometimes be done via the patient portal. If more discussion is needed, Dr. Mercuro may require an appointment to review them and discuss next steps.
If you have had a visit within the past 6 months, Dr. Mercuro will refill prescriptions that have originated in our office. Please use the “My Medications” area of the patient portal to request prescription refills. You may also send a portal message or call the office if you prefer. Keep in mind that prescriptions that are custom made by compounding pharmacies and mail order prescriptions that are shipped to you require additional time. Please plan accordingly and allow ample time for the refill process.
The patient portal provides secure, encrypted BRIEF communications directly between patients and Sparkle Health team members. It is an invaluable tool that should be used for general communications and quick follow-up questions. It can be used to schedule appointments and obtain visit summaries, lab orders and lab results. Personal information such as your address, phone, credit card, and pharmacy preferences can be updated directly through the portal.
Note: Use the portal only for simple, non-urgent issues (max 500 characters). For other concerns, you will be asked to schedule an appointment.
New Patient Appointments – 2 business days
Existing Patient Appointments – 1 business day
When you schedule an appointment at Sparkle Health, that time is reserved exclusively for you. We meticulously prepare for each appointment and create individually tailored programs prior to your arrival. If you cannot keep your scheduled appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so we may offer that time to another patient in need of care.
Existing Patients: A $100 fee for cancellations made within 24 hours of your appointment time will apply. No-shows will be charged the full cost of the missed appointment to the credit card on file. This fee will automatically process on the credit card we have on file.
New Patients: If you cancel within 48 hours of your appointment time or do not arrive at your appointment, your $100 deposit is non-refundable. If you cancel before the 48-hour deadline, your $100 deposit may be applied to a future appointment. No-shows will be charged the full cost of the missed appointment to the credit card on file.
Massage Therapy, Nutrition, Health Coaching and IV Therapy:
New and Existing Patient Appointments – 24 business hours
A $50 fee for no-shows and cancellations made within 24 hours of your appointment time will apply. This fee will automatically process on the credit card we have on file.
Call the office at (603) 328-8101 to determine availability.
– Comfortable clothing for an easy exam.
– Supplements or medications you are currently taking. Please bring the actual bottles.
– Pertinent lab work and other tests done during the past year and years, if relevant. You may bring physical copies to your appointment or upload them electronically to the Labs & Documents section of your patient portal for review before your appointment.
– Health insurance card(s) for lab work.
Electronically complete 3-Day Food Diary to help us understand your diet. Do not forget the details: For example, instead of “coffee,” try “one cup of caffeinated coffee with one teaspoon of sugar.”
Every individual has an ideal diet based on the way their body functions. While a vegan diet can be successful for one individual, it can be a disaster for another. The same can be said for low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, Paleo, Mediterranean, etc. Functional nutrition acknowledges a vast array of food plans and tailors a dietary approach to the specific physiological needs and personal preferences of the individual. The emphasis is on choosing high quality foods with a diversity of phytonutrients and eating them in a manner that supports metabolic balance and optimal nutrition status. Our customized approach addresses the underlying imbalances in your core clinical functions while creating a healthy relationship with food. The goal is to help you become aware of how food may be impacting your health and contributing to the development and persistence of chronic disease.
No. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to be part of a community seeking optimal health. Even if you are not an active patient, you are welcome to attend any of our educational offers for a small fee unless otherwise specified.
No. Dr. Mercuro prescribes and oversees all IV infusions that take place at Sparkle Health. Her prescription is based on her assessment of your health over the course of your treatment.
Yes, massage services are available by appointment. Please call the office to schedule an appointment and discuss pricing.
Functional medicine is a science-based, personalized healthcare approach that assesses and treats underlying causes of illness. Treatment is individually tailored to restore health and improve function. It works to prevent and reverse chronic disease and is often referred to as Root Cause Analysis Medicine.
Functional medicine doctors look at health differently. We look at biological imbalances that cause symptoms. We focus on WHY a symptom or problem is happening. We prioritize lifestyle interventions as the most important initial intervention followed by integrative/alternative approaches and conventional pharmaceuticals only if needed. It is very personalized care. When the focus is on WHY, the treatment plan needs to be tailored to the contributing factors specific to the patient.
We believe everyone can benefit from functional medicine. Some patients seek this kind of care to optimize their health with aging. Sometimes patients come for signs and symptoms inadequately treated with conventional medicine. Some patients share our philosophy and prefer to optimize integrative and lifestyle interventions first and use pharmaceuticals as a last resort.
For additional information, see our treatments to find out if Sparkle Health is right for you.
The most common thyroid disorder is hypothyroidism or underactive thyroids. Often this is treated very simply in the conventional medicine model by checking a TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) and treating it with thyroid hormone replacement. In the functional medicine model, the diagnosis is just the beginning. The next step is to investigate why that individual developed the thyroid gland dysfunction. Testing for autoimmunity or critical nutrients such as iodine and evaluating the impact of stress, the gastrointestinal health or toxic burden are all possible next steps. The key difference is a more personalized approach, acknowledging there may be a genetic predisposition but there are a whole host of modifiable factors that we can use to change the trajectory of health. In the functional medicine model, there is an effort to personalize treatment even when it comes to thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Different forms of thyroid hormone replacement such as branded versions, capsule versions and naturally desiccated thyroid hormone medications are used when appropriate. Some patients are supported by not just the standard levothyroxine (T4) but liothyronine (T3) is useful in managing symptoms. Each thyroid patient is unique, and the goal is to individualize treatment.
Autoimmune disorders occur when the immune system “attacks” self-tissue. Examples of autoimmune disorders include Rheumatoid Arthritis, Inflammatory Bowel Disorders such as Crohn’s Disease, Sjogren’s Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. The diagnosis is the beginning and using a functional medicine approach in combination with conventional treatments is often best practice. Functional medicine will look at the immune system’s interactions with the environment, food, toxins, and infections to figure out what is feeding the inflammatory response. Once the immune system has been triggered, the goal is to identify and avoid that trigger while working to modulate the immune system to achieve remission or at least stability of the condition. In some cases, the risk of tissue damage from the autoimmune disease is concerning and conventional pharmaceuticals while we work on the underlying factors. Sometimes less medication is needed over time with this approach. The goal is also to prevent other autoimmune diagnoses using a functional medicine approach.
Functional medicine seeks to personalize cholesterol management and the prevention of heart disease. Lifestyle, nutrition, exercise, stress management and sleep all can be modified and can support goals to reduce cardiovascular risk. Evaluation of more in depth expanded lipid panels and trying to figure out when lifestyle changes are enough and weighing the use of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals is quite a common reason for a functional medicine consultation. Looking at the patient’s willingness or stage of change when it comes to lifestyle factors, the pattern on the lipoprotein profile, the 10-year risk scores and other co-morbidities are often used to make the best decision for each individual patient. If more information is needed to help stratify risk, coronary calcium score testing is often utilized to help guide clinical decision making. Food choices and exercise are often prioritized and personalized to help achieve goals rather than moving straight to pharmaceuticals. If pharmaceuticals are warranted because of the risk- benefit profile, we review how to mitigate side effects and help guide the best choice of medication.
We approach problems of blood glucose dysregulation in functional medicine with the goal of reversing metabolic dysfunction when possible and prevent or put into remission Type 2 Diabetes. As with most things, we start with nutrition and address over nutrition if applicable. We look at the glycemic impact of foods and consider combinations of food and even the time of day with the circadian rhythm the food is eaten. We often use continuous glucose monitoring to get a sense in real time what is happening with meals. Identifying triggers for high blood sugars or even low blood sugars in the case of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia which is the earlier stage of blood glucose dysregulation can be helpful in stabilizing metabolic health. Sometimes it is more than food. Activity, stress and even the makeup of the gut microbiome can influence blood glucose regulation. Hormones can affect the way our body metabolizes glucose for example during menopause transition.
We sometimes use medications / pharmaceuticals if in alignment with physiology and it will help in the long term. We often use nutraceuticals that have some scientific evidence and use pharmaceutical grade products to influence the body’s regulation of blood sugar.
Menopause is a naturally occurring decline in women’s hormone levels. However sometimes this decline is dramatic and often there are symptoms associated with menopause. At a basic level easing menopause transition with lifestyle changes, nutraceuticals and often hormone replacement therapy can be helpful. Even though we want to work with the body’s natural rhythm, the fact is that the withdrawal of hormones influences aging and the chronic diseases associated with aging and we are living longer so that ⅓ of a woman’s life is spent in menopause. Functional medicine is more open to managing menopause transition and menopause with hormone replacement therapy when indicated. We acknowledge the influence of hormone withdrawal not just on symptoms but also on chronic diseases of aging with the goal of prevention. One of the principles of functional medicine is to shorten the gap between recent studies and clinical research and implementation based on those results. Hormone replacement therapy is one of those areas where we know more now than we did 20+ years ago. What we do for menopausal women also must adapt to current information. Functional medicine embraces changing scientific data and works to implement that clinical information in a personalized way. The use of hormone replacement therapy is a personalized decision and functional medicine approach that reviews risks and benefits for each individual. We also measure hormone levels periodically with ongoing treatment as every woman is different. We also use other tools when hormone replacement therapy is not the right choice including botanical ones and lifestyle to help not just with symptoms of menopause but also to influence biological age and vitality.