Mike Hutchins, MD
Meet Mike
I bring 30 years of experience to aid you in reaching optimal health. The motto in my internal medicine clinic was “always take care of the patient”. In the last decade, I have added “humans evolved without pharmaceutical medications” to my repertoire. I strongly believe in collaborative care and will work with my Health Coach and you to reach your health goals.
Reaching optimal health can be obtained by most of us. Functional Medicine targets the 20% of the population who have chronic diseases or difficult to treat diagnoses. My team and I, in collaboration with yourself, will work closely; at times even weekly to guide you toward optimal health.
There are 8 basic tenants of Functional Medicine which are all interconnected. First is Gastrointestinal/Assimilation which is the absorption of nutrients. This is closely related to the Immune system to protect us from outside attacks and over protection. This is also connected with exposures to Toxins and our abilities to eliminate them. The systems require Energy or mitochondrial function which powers our entire body. This ties into CardioMetabolic which is also linked to the Hormonal systems which influences and modifies all the above processes, leading to Structural Integrity that allows us unhindered movement.
Finally, the center of health is your Emotional/Mental and Spiritual which makes life worth living. And imbalance or dysfunction of any of these basic 8 tenants leads to decreased wellness.
“When people feel like they are being heard and listened to – that the doctor really wants to know what’s going on with them – the person feels empathy; they feel this understanding, and that automatically makes them more compliant. And, by using some of the tools in the toolkit… it begins to open the door of possibility, so you can expand your repertoire away from just being able to write a prescription.”
– Robert Rountree, MD
Mike’s Qualifications
I am an Allopathic physician continuously board-certified for the last 30 years. In the last 5 years, I have enjoyed additional studies to become an herbalist and a Certified Functional Medicine practitioner with the Institute of Functional Medicine. I have worked as a hospitalist, Medical Director at UMC Las Vegas, and an outpatient Internal Medicine physician in Missoula. I have lived in Missoula for the last 15 years. I have been interested in health most of my life.
Mike’s Personal Life
I was raised on a dairy farm in central Nevada, I have been a distance runner–marathoner, and Ironman competitor/Champion on the US triathlon team, surfer, horseman for the last 30 years and still packing in the Bob Marshall and Pintler Mountains. I enjoy upland bird hunting, motorcycles, and still driving my high school 51 Chevy pickup. Currently, I hike, bike, and am continuously entertained by my 5 grandchildren.