Nava Health & Vitality Center

I did not love my “premium” experience here. The highlight for me was Jessica, the nutritionist. She was personal and pleasant and our conversation felt authentic and human. She emailed me her feedback/notes without asking, and then I was even able to contact her via email, to which she was responsive. It was not possible for me to do this with the NP, in which I had to ask for follow-up notes with written recommendations. My in-person experience at the office in Rockville was mediocre. The appointments always ran late by at least 10 minutes, even though I was typically the only person in the waiting room. Kinda sucks for a 15 minute blood draw to turn into a 45 minute ordeal when you have the parking meters running. The male lab tech for my first gut health IV was accommodating, which I did find to match the “premium” price tag. On my second visit for gut health IV, a different lab tech assisted me instead. I noticed she was aloof, like she didn’t ask if I needed anything like water/snacks, which I’d been offered that first time. She also mentioned that I would be the only person in the room as she walked me back. So, I was looking forward to that.. only to see another lab tech, seemingly on her lunch break and sitting in the massage chair that I would’ve liked to use. She was listening to a video on her phone, without headphones, eating, using the massage chair.. for the duration of my 45 minute appointment. Did not wipe down the massage chair after eating an entire meal in it.. I think it’s fine for employees to have access to these services, but it left an unprofessional impression while I was sitting there as a patient (who had paid heftily, at that). For all that the patients pay to have these services, they could at least feel exclusive, rather than like sharing a break room with the employees. Witnessing that was frankly just sloppy and in bad taste.

I was a patient with Nava for about 18 months. There are a lot of great things about Nava but I'm giving up on them. First, there is a lot of doctor turnover. You often won't get the same doctor between appointments so each appointment is like a new patient appointment because they have to get up to speed on what your plan was with your last doctor and they may agree or disagree with whatever that plan was. In 18 months I had 3-4 different doctors. Second, they prescribe medicine that you could get through a pharmacy and get your insurance to pay for, but instead they sell it to you at a full price. I was OK with this because I felt like I was getting good service and I would use my FSA account to pay for it. However, Nava would not sign off on a one-page piece of paper that FSA requires to show medical necessity. All they would do was provide a form letter. That might have worked for FSA, but I wouldn't know because Nava wouldn't provide me with an accurate letter. They provided a letter for a prescription I was not taking. Third, their phone and email customer service I believe is outsourced to some foreign country. Which is fine in general, maybe it keeps costs down, but if you have a unique clerical issue like I had, you literally cannot talk to anyone in the office to help you with your issue. You can tell they are using scripts and if the help you need isn't on one of the scripts you are out of luck. Fourth, they soon will no longer take insurance. I realized if I couldn't get them to provide one piece of paper to assist me with a $620 prescription reimbursement, I would also deal with this issue getting appointments and services reimbursed through insurance. Finally, I find their supplement business shady. For example, Harvard Health and many other hospital and health websites state that the normal blood levels for magnesium is 1.7-2.2mg/dL. My blood levels for magnesium were between 1.9 and 2.1 over 18months, but this was alerted as low on their test results and they set the normal range on the test results page as 2.2-2.4. I was spending $30+ per month on magnesium supplements, cutting out alcohol, and changing my diet to boost my numbers and I could never get it higher than 2.1. In fact the 2.1 result was after I quit taking the magnesium supplements out of frustration. It feels to me like they artificially raised the range to sell more supplements. What is unique about Nava is that they listen to your problems, run tests for things that normal doctors don't, and aggressively try to find a solution for your issues. I am very grateful to them for diagnosing my issues, unfortunately their identified issues are too much to deal with.

I embarked on my wellness journey with Nava four months ago, and I have been truly impressed by the whole experience. After hitting a roadblock with my medical team for almost a year, Nava's comprehensive blood work, doctor and nutritionist appointments, along with my dedication to the supplements and recommended services, have made a significant difference in how I feel. The team at Nava is both welcoming and professional. One highlight for me is the massage by Laurel. She provides the perfect massage every single time! The pressure is just right, and her hands seem to move with remarkable intuition. I always leave feeling refreshed and noticeably less stressed.