Functional Medicine Pharmacists Address Gut Health Beyond Traditional Dispensing

In functional medicine, the prescription pad is only the beginning of patient care. Pharmacists in this space are proving their unique positioning in helping patients do far more than manage their symptoms; instead they are addressing root causes of disease.

In this week’s episode of the Over the Counter podcast, Tarah Davis, PharmD, AFMC, founder of The Rooted Pharmacy, walks through how her own functional medicine and gut health journey at age 14 shaped a pharmacy career built around identifying root causes rather than simply treating what shows up on a prescription.

“As a pharmacist, I get to know about the disease states and the medication, but I also get to know the people. I think that’s the biggest superpower that pharmacists have in functional medicine,” she told Drug Topics®. “It’s not only being able to deprescribe and get people functioning but also just being able to have that health care provider that has constant contact with our patients, setting us up to be able to deliver functional medicine to people at such a higher level because it’s so much more than just a 10-minute consult.”

Her focus area in functional medicine is gut health: A space, she argues, pharmacists are primed to address given their deep knowledge of drug-induced nutrient depletions, pharmacokinetics, and the kind of sustained patient relationships that short clinical visits simply cannot replicate.

Davis makes a compelling case for why gut health is central to whole-patient care, tracing connections between common medications like omeprazole, nutrient deficiencies, and downstream effects ranging from digestive dysfunction to anxiety and nervous system dysregulation. She also challenges the broader health care model, arguing that the traditional insurance-driven, appointment-to-appointment framework is incompatible with the kind of deep, personalized care that actually moves the needle for patients.

For pharmacists curious about expanding their clinical impact through functional medicine, this conversation offers both inspiration and a practical framework for getting started.

Stay tuned for weekly podcast episodes of Over the Counter powered by Drug Topics. Check out our most recent episode with Harini Bupathi, Esq, who joined to discuss the nature of PBM audits, how they impact pharmacies and PBMs alike, and how pharmacies can be proactive in addressing them.