IFM is leading the field of functional medicine and advancing the transformation of health and well-being for all.

The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) released its highly anticipated 2020-2021 Annual Report showcasing critically important mission-driven work to empower confident and competent practitioners of functional medicine, advance health equity, increase access, and improve the overall delivery of patient care. This is the organization’s inaugural annual report and covers the impact and financial information for both 2020 and 2021.

“Collaboration is vital to the transformation of health care, and it is through our partnerships that we can create real change together,” states Amy R. Mack, MSES/MPA, IFM CEO. “We are proud to share along with our partners the incredible stories of impact through training practitioners in functional medicine, expanding access to functional medicine for practitioners and patients and supporting the functional medicine field in research and clinical patient care.”

Demand for functional medicine is at an all-time high, as recognized in some of the report’s 2020-2021 noteworthy data:

• In 2020 and 2021, IFM saw more than 18,000 registrations for IFM’s training programs.
• 536 practitioners received IFM certification, bringing the number of certified practitioners to nearly 1,800. Many of these have come from our military partners. More than 110 military practitioners have completed IFM training, an additional 134 military members have taken our foundational course, and 89 more have become IFM certified practitioners.
• Currently, more than 3,000 candidates are actively pursuing IFM certification.
• IFM’s Find a Practitioner database receives more than one million unique visitors per year.
• IFM awarded more than $1.66M in program scholarships, discounts, and tuition assistance, including a 50% reduced tuition student rate so that young medical professionals may begin their functional medicine curriculum alongside their academic and residency programs.
• In 2020 and 2021, IFM revenues exceeded expenses despite the unprecedented challenges faced, further demonstrating the increasing demand for functional medicine education and training.

Functional medicine provides practitioners with a framework to deliver a deeper level of care that not only addresses complex chronic conditions, but guides patients towards a higher expression of health and well-being. During 2020 and 2021, safety measure related to COVID-19 required necessary adjustments to the work of the organization. IFM leaned into the disruptive changes in the healthcare landscape and leveraged those challenges as an opportunity to broaden and increase access, education, and training. IFM became, and continues to be, a trusted resource for evidenced-based information to address conditions related to the SARS-CoV-2 infection and reaffirmed its role in providing the gold standard in functional medicine education and training.

This first ever report also demonstrates IFM’s transformational work through collaborations, highlighting partnerships with academic institutions, large health systems, Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Defense. Through this work, functional medicine access is being integrated into a greater number of clinics, academic medicine settings, and vulnerable and medically underserved communities than ever before.

IFM is creating transformational change in health care for individuals around the globe. Learn more about the organization’s impact and read the full annual report at IFM.org/AnnualReport.

About IFM

The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) is the global leader in functional medicine and a collaborator in the transformation of health care. IFM is a nonprofit organization that believes functional medicine can help every individual reach their full potential for health and well-being. Founded in 1991 and dedicated to the widespread adoption of functional medicine, IFM works to advance education and training, clinical patient care, research, and outcomes in functional medicine worldwide. For more information, please visit IFM.org.

About functional medicine

Functional medicine determines how and why illness occurs and restores health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual. The functional medicine model is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness.

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