Change in Bredesen practitioner access MPI website

[Carolina mind]

I am new and will tell my full story when I have more time. Suffice it to say that I am APOE 3/4 with a mother in the advanced stages of AD and a deceased father who had a related dementia, Lewy Body Dementia. I am 69 yrs old and have just recently begun experiencing symptoms that I suspect could be Mild Cognitive Impairment (mostly, but not only, significant directional disorientation). I have only fairly recently become familiar with the Bredesen Protocol and am seeing it as a remarkable, albeit daunting, avenue of hope to stave off my mother's fate. I went to the link in the back of Bredesen's book to MPI Cognition and sent them a message expressing interest in accessing a practitioner. I got a quick email reply that a corporation (AHNP Precision Health) has recently acquired the ReCODE Report website. I went to their website and looked at the profiles of the leadership; what I saw was not reassuring. They seem to be corporate business types with impressive track records of hugely boosting corporate profits and are entirely lacking in health care background. (Dr. Bredesen is listed as "Chief of Science" but is not listed or profiled with the corporate officers.) I do not know what the website looked like before this acquisition, but I was concerned about several elements of it. First, there was an ill-defined monthly "subscription" of $75 required for participation. Secondly, there was an upfront charge of $1399 for their assessment battery BEFORE one could have access to any information whatsoever about who your practitioner might be, whether there would even be anyone available "live" in your region, or whether it would be "telemedicine". Nowhere on the site did I see a listing of participating physicians or their credentials. I also wasn't entirely clear what the $1399 covered (not in itself an exorbitant amount for a comprehensive assessment--the price was't the problem), though I did read through their information very quickly.

I live in a medium-size town in North Carolina, with no practitioner that I know of anywhere near. If I am to do telemedicine, I would prefer to enlist the help of a physician whom I can select and who has a known track record working with ReCODE. I also would be willing to travel some distance for periodic appointments in order to see a practitioner whom I could trust. Since I am already symptomatic, I am feeling some urgency about starting the process, but I definitely need an informed opinion regarding the legitimacy of the post-corporate acquisition of the former MPI Cognition website, and information beyond that I see in this forum's listing of practitioners (an excellent resource, but the nearest person to me is in Florida, at least a full day's drive away).

I am heartened to find an outstanding forum such as this for those of us with APOE4 and look forward to reading and learning more (I did read Dr. Stavia's piece and appreciate your contributions, Dr. S.!). Thanks to all for your help.

[CoachDD]

Greetings Carolina mind!

I appreciate the information you shared about the change with ReCODE now that it is under AHNP Precision Health. I am currently a "participant" paying the $75 monthly charge, but I did not have the $1399 upfront cost. I did, however, go through a Bredesen-trained doctor for the battery of tests - thankfully, my commercial insurance covered a good portion of them.

May I suggest you search the Institute of Functional Medicine website - click "Find a Practitioner" and use the "Advanced Search Options". From there, enter your details/location and be sure to select the "Reverse Cognitive Decline" under the last section "Completed Coursework".

Here is the link - hope this helps!
https://www.ifm.org/find-a-practitioner/

[Julie G]

Welcome Carolina Mind! I'm just as confused as everyone else about the new AHNP business model. I think the $1,399 includes a patient ordered "cognoscopy" with all of the tests outlined in this thread. With this option, there is no need for a contract or a physician. You order it yourself and get your own reCODE report.

As far as what happens if you want to sign up to work with a physician, I'm clueless. Does anybody else know? Could that be where the $75 per month comes in?

[srbogert]

Welcome Carolina Mind! A quick search of the forums reveals that AHNP Precision Health’s acquisition of MPI Cognition has several our members asking questions like yours. You are definitely not alone during this transition of services. Please stay tuned into the group and share your experience. Together we can figure out where this is going.

Being new to the site, I’m glad that you found Dr Stavia's primer useful. You might also want to review the How To Get The Most Out Of The ApoE4.info Website Wiki. When you are ready, you can share more about yourself in the Our Stories section.

Looking forward to your contributions!

[xactly]

As far as what happens if you want to sign up to work with a physician, I'm clueless. Does anybody else know? Could that be where the $75 per month comes in?

I signed up for the ReCODE Report (MPI Cognition) website last September, before the AHNP acquisition. It required a 12-month commitment of $75 per month to get access to certified practitioners in my area, which is metro Phoenix, Arizona. There were four practitioners listed. One did not return my phone calls or respond to my email inquiries. The second was a chiropractor who could only order tests through my PCP, which is not an option. The third asked for $3K up front per year, and the fourth charged $600 for the first visit, then $200 for every visit thereafter.

I chose the fourth practitioner, but she did not follow the Recode Protocol. She ordered a bunch of tests, some were related to the protocol and others were not. She prescribed a bunch of supplements, some related to the protocol and others not. I learned a lot from reading the test results myself, but I am still missing key information I expected to get from a cognoscopy.

I told MPI several times I was unhappy with the results, and I am terminating my subscription at the end of my 12-month commitment, which is this month. I'll try to find an FMP I can work with going forward.

[lol]

The real hope is with researchers who are working hard to develop ways to diagnose, treat and prevent Alzheimer's. Research scientists use controlled experiments. They don't rely on patient testimonials.
We can't prevent Alzheimer's right now, but we can adopt a healthy lifestyle. Most everyone agrees that a healthy diet, exercise, sleep are important for our general health. Yet, I don't want to get bombarded with email offers for books and videos, all kinds of supplement and quackery diets. For example, coconut oil has been warned against by the American Heart Association because evidence shows it >s the risk of heart disease. That is just one example of a suggested supplement that is not supported by scientific study.
As part of the Generations Study, I know that currently Alzheimer's cannot of diagnosed until after death. Dr. Bredesen's claims of improvement might be because some of his patients have treatable diseases, like depression, or stroke.
The feeling of control over a disease with no cure feels good. We all have our ways of coping. We are easy prey and easy to be scammed when we see claims of "reversal of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease".

[Chameleon]

Hi Carolina mind,

Please check the Practitioner List for someone in your area.

[sarah_cave]

Hi...
I'm really glad I found this forum. Have just had a very upsetting experience with AHNP Precision Health. My best friend and I were both planning to get our mothers signed up for the ReCODE monthly subscription (in order to get a list of practitioners and to be sure that our mothers would be following the protocol as precisely as possible). My best friend's dad signed up, paid the $1399, and then they realized that had wanted to do the monthly instead. They could NOT get in touch with anybody. AHNP seems to be completely non-responsive. We've all left voicemails (the phone number goes directly to voicemail) and emailed requests for response. Nothing, and it has been a week. We are devastated, not because of the money, but because of the loss of faith in this process. What have you found out since this post? My mother is in North Carolina as well- near Asheville. I would love to be in touch with more people who are going through this process!

[NF52]

Hi...
I'm really glad I found this forum. Have just had a very upsetting experience with AHNP Precision Health. My best friend and I were both planning to get our mothers signed up for the ReCODE monthly subscription (in order to get a list of practitioners and to be sure that our mothers would be following the protocol as precisely as possible). My best friend's dad signed up, paid the $1399, and then they realized that had wanted to do the monthly instead. They could NOT get in touch with anybody. AHNP seems to be completely non-responsive. We've all left voicemails (the phone number goes directly to voicemail) and emailed requests for response. Nothing, and it has been a week. We are devastated, not because of the money, but because of the loss of faith in this process. What have you found out since this post? My mother is in North Carolina as well- near Asheville. I would love to be in touch with more people who are going through this process!

Welcome Sarah!
I'm glad you found our site also, and appreciate you sharing your experience and that of your best friend's dad. Since I am not affiliated with AHNP, I won't be able to solve that problem, but encourage your friend's dad to continue efforts to contact the company, possibly with a certified letter requiring a signature. It may also help if he notes that you have added a complaint to this website, since Dr. Bredesen has been a strong supporter of both this forum and of people with ApoE 4, as well as all those who seek to prevent or reverse cognitive decline.

One piece of information that may be helpful: The monthly subscription that your friend's dad hopes to switch to was part of Dr. Bredesen's previous company, MPI Cognition, which was purchased in about July 2018 by AHNP: Precision Health. (He is still an officer of the new company.) MPI Cognition had a flat annual fee of $900. per year, payable in monthly installments of $75. (In other words, you could not subscribe for only a month or two.) My understanding is that the fee provided one ReCODE report based on the results of blood tests which you, or your PCP or functional medicine provider arranged for, and which you or your insurance company paid for in whole or part. It also provided monthly newsletters and other information.

The new model is that AHNP partners with a company with access to labs nationwide and that the new higher cost covers both a standard lab panel (with more labs a la carte) and the ReCODE report. I think there is a FAQ page on the website that explains this in more detail.

So I don't believe that your friend's father would be able to switch to a monthly plan from the old MPI Cognition. Whether he can cancel his current plan if he isn't happy with AHNP: Precision Health's response is a different question and one we wouldn't be able to answer.

Having been to Asheville several times, I know that your mother is surrounded by wonderful people, natural beauty and diverse cultural resources. I hope that you find some wonderful people and resources on this site also. You sound like a terrific daughter and friend!

[CoachJD]

Welcome, sarah_cave. I am so happy that you and your friend intend to support your moms with lifestyle change in the Bredesen protocol. That type of family help is a key element in the success of the program. I have emailed in some detail with folks at AHNP regarding their options, and they do offer both a onetime payment plan with a single ReCODE report, and they have rebranded the monthly subscription with other features and multiple ReCODE reports named the REVERSE program. As NF52 states, we are not affiliated with AHNP so we don't have any direct influence, but keep up trying to get their attention. The monthly REVERSE program also has an option to purchase a lab package for $1099, so maybe the best outcome is to ask for the monthly membership PLUS the labs package instead of the ReCODE option. You would end up spending$1999 with them, but will get many of your labs included. Please let us know if you have any luck contacting them, and while you're here, please investigate the information in the PRIMER and the WIKI, as it's very helpful.