Millions of Americans live with symptoms that persist for years without a clear explanation. Too often, they are dismissed as stress or aging. Many patients keep searching for an answer, moving from one specialist to the next. Meanwhile, an underlying hormonal, metabolic, digestive, or autoimmune condition goes unexamined. The result is years of frustration and expenses for patients and the health system, and one of the largest unmet needs in outpatient care. That need is growing faster than supply. We believe the next generation of providers who meet it will define the direction of outpatient healthcare. Aligned Modern Health (AMH), a recent Arcventis investment, is one of them.
A System Historically Built for Curative Care
For most people with chronic, unexplained symptoms, the search for answers typically begins in primary care. Visits are brief, and when routine lab work comes back normal, a flurry of disconnected referrals follows. Symptoms persist, and within a year or two, many patients have seen four or five specialists who have never spoken to one another. Each specialist addresses a single symptom and none are responsible for finding and treating the underlying cause.
Standard blood work rarely includes the full hormone, thyroid, vitamin or autoimmune panels needed to identify many underlying conditions. Few clinicians are trained to look further. In a survey published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, less than 7% of residents in family medicine, internal medicine, and OB/GYN said they felt adequately prepared to manage menopause. As a result, many patients with complex conditions go years without a diagnosis. Those with autoimmune conditions, for example, wait an average of 4.5 years for a correct diagnosis, according to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA).
Frustrated, a growing number of people are paying out of pocket for solutions, many of which never address the root cause. A cash-pay wellness market has formed around that demand. Patients can now order lab panels covering more than 100 biomarkers, track their sleep with a wearable, and begin hormone therapy after a single short video visit. What they rarely get is a clinician who interprets the full picture and is accountable for the outcome. Many patients come away with more data, more anxiety, and no clear care plan.
More data alone does not solve the problem. Patients need clinical judgment from an expert who can explain what their results mean and what to do next. That clinical judgment is an integral part of ongoing treatment as this category of patients does not have a ‘one and done’ treatment profile. Neither the traditional system nor the wellness market is built to provide it.
This is the root-cause gap. The traditional system is designed to treat acute problems in brief visits. The wellness market is designed to sell tests and prescriptions. The patient whose needs span several specialties falls through the cracks between the two. The costs accumulate in years of unresolved symptoms, thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket spending, and lost productivity for the employers who ultimately bear much of the expense.
A Model That Closes the Gap
Closing the gap is not simply about more testing or more specialist visits. It requires a care model built around clinical judgment. In our view, that model rests on three pillars.
Clinical rigor and continuity. Care should begin with a complete picture of the patient. That means a full medical history, a review of prior labs and records, and a diagnostic panel broad enough to find the root cause of a patient’s symptoms. Nutritional supplements and medication therapy that extends into hormone therapy, GLP-1 medications, and peptides play an important role in treatment, but only once that diagnostic foundation is in place. From the first visit onward, a single clinical team should remain accountable for a patient's care plan.
Access through insurance. Comprehensive care only works if patients can afford it and fit it into their lives. Insurance coverage makes it affordable. Virtual visits, available evenings and weekends, make it practical.
Measured outcomes. Employers and health plans will not pay for what they cannot measure. Providers that can demonstrate symptom resolution, improved lab values, and better patient-reported outcomes will earn the referrals and the insurance contracts.
Where the Market Is Heading
We expect the leaders in this segment to look more like next-generation medical practices than consumer wellness brands. Employers and health plans are beginning to cover menopause, hormone, and metabolic care. As coverage expands, members will be steered toward in-network providers that can show results. Single-condition, pure cash-pay programs are poorly positioned for this shift. Because many treat symptoms without addressing the root cause, few patients see meaningful results. The solutions that endure will be clinically rigorous, in-network, and able to prove outcomes.
Why We Invested in Aligned Modern Health (AMH)
Aligned Modern Health reflects what that model looks like in practice. Since launching its functional medicine practice in 2018, the company has built a deep bench of experienced clinicians, a strong presence in the Chicago area, and a telehealth practice serving patients in more than 20 states. Care at AMH starts with a diagnosis, not a prescription. Every new patient receives a full workup to identify the root cause, reviewed by the clinician who will manage their care. AMH offers a full suite of treatment offerings including nutritional supplements, hormone therapy, GLP-1 medications, and peptide care, but only once that full picture is in hand. AMH is in network with major insurers, conducts most visits virtually, and already tracks the outcomes that employers and health plans will soon require. We invested in AMH because they have built what this market is demanding and beginning to reward.
We are excited to support the team at Aligned Modern Health to expand its reach and deepen its impact as they bring long-awaited answers and personalized care to many more patients.