Heather Maddox, MD
Heather is a Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician and has been providing exceptional primary care to her patients since 2000.
A graduate of the University of Virginia, Heather completed her medical education at Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2000 and Family Medicine Residency at Riverside Family Practice in 2003. She practiced family medicine full-time in Midlothian, VA before moving to Missoula. Heather held a long standing practice as a Primary Care Physician at Western Montana Clinic starting in 2009, before co-founding Montana Functional Health in 2019.
Practicing functional medicine is a natural extension of her long-held interests in preventative care and promoting health and wellness. Heather is recognized as a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner through the Institute of Functional Medicine.
Heather is proud to call Missoula home and enjoys exploring all Montana has to offer with her husband, two sons, and their dogs.
Heather’s Journey
What I love most about being a physician is connecting with patients. I have learned that patients will tell you what is wrong if you take the time to listen.
I have worked in a conventional medicine setting since 2003 and have found our current western medical system often rewards quantity over quality. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for a provider to listen to a patient’s story, form a therapeutic relationship, and properly understand why someone is battling disease.
After struggling for years with these shortcomings, I was determined to find an approach that allowed me to be a more effective physician. I also wanted more tools than just prescription medication to help heal people with increasingly complex medical problems.
In 2017 I was introduced to functional medicine, a system-oriented approach to understanding and treating chronic disease that better fits my practice ideals. Rather than matching symptoms to the diagnosis to medications, I was looking to understand and treat the root cause of why a person was chronically ill. When I found functional medicine, I knew instantly that this was the direction I wanted to go with my medical career.
I also have a personal stake in learning more about functional medicine. Unfortunately my health declined suddenly in August 2023, and I was diagnosed with Grave’s disease. This was a shock as I thought I was doing all of the things I was supposed to. However, I learned that exposure to mold was playing a role, and I wasn’t managing stress as well as I needed to. It was a wake up call to take a deeper dive into my health and well being. This has given me unique insight into caring for patients dealing with autoimmune disease along with mold toxicity which can be a roller coaster with highs and lows. Ultimately it has made me a better person and provider. This is a lifelong process that requires commitment and dedication, and I am always honored when I am given the opportunity to work with people on their health journey.
“My journey with functional medicine has been deeply personal and has changed the way I live my life. I am excited to continue to learn and share functional medicine with my patients to help empower them to find their optimal state of wellness.”
– Heather Maddox, MD