Family Medicine Physician, & Functional Medicine Practitioner

Owner of DirectMed by Dr. Katriny Ikbal

Dr. Katriny Ikbal is a board certified family physician with a passion for patient care. She is a graduate of UT-Austin with a B.S. in Nutrition, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, and UT Southwestern Austin Family Medicine Residency program. Dr. Ikbal is currently training with the Institute for Functional Medicine and plans to become certified in the near future.

Before founding DirectMed in 2015, Dr. Ikbal spent several years working in urgent care. This is where she realized the need for family medicine built around more meaningful patient/doctor relationships focusing on long term health through wellness and prevention. She is devoted to delivering the best and most affordable care possible and firmly believes that optimal care requires continuity with direct access. DirectMed takes care of many local businesses in addition to individuals, couples and families in the greater Austin, TX area.

DirectMed is truly a ‘family’ practice where each patient receives the time and attention they deserve. Neer Patel is Dr. Ikbal’s husband and Practice Manager responsible for business and integration of technology which helps strengthen its patient relationships.

Outside the office, Dr. Ikbal is heavily involved in the community. She enjoys spending time with her family and exploring the world through travel. Dr. Ikbal became a new mother in 2015 and delivered her second child in 2017. First-hand experience of parenthood has brought her a whole new appreciation of all the parents and children she cares for.

Head of Operations @ DirectMed DPC

Employer Benefits Consultant @ VirtuousBenefits.care

Neer Patel is responsible for the business side of things at DirectMed DPC and works together with Dr. Katriny Ikbal and Dr. Katie Keller to provide a patient-centered primary care practice. Check out their website at DirectMed.care

As a direct primary care practice, they are not contracted with any health insurance or third-party payors. Instead, their patients pay an affordable monthly membership fee for unlimited direct access to their physician with exceptional, personalized healthcare.

Neer an engineer by trade, but an entrepreneur at heart. He also comes from a long line of physicians, so he understands Dr. Ikbal’s desire to get family medicine back to what it used to be—real patient-doctor relationships.

In addition to his work with DirectMed DPC, which focuses on individuals and families, Neer also offers and consults on Direct Primary Care benefits plans for businesses. Learn more at: VirtuousBenefits.care

Functional Medicine @ Madina Medicine

Let me paint you a picture. You develop symptoms or have a chronic disease and visit a physician. They see you very briefly, run some lab tests and prescribe some medications. But you don’t really have an answer of what’s wrong, or more importantly why! Maybe you were told it’s nothing to worry about or that you’re just getting older or that it’s all in your head. Maybe no one took the time to listen to you. You have a deep feeling that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Sound familiar?

The picture I just painted is exactly how our healthcare system works right now for chronic disease. A lack of quality time with a physician, lack of personalized approach and an over emphasis on prescription medication without taking a holistic approach. I should know the conventional system, because I was trained in it. During my training, I was fortunate to witness the many positive aspects of our healthcare system when it comes to handling acute care, such as trauma, strokes, heart attacks etc. However, when it comes to chronic disease and symptoms that have a less obvious cause, our system does not have an approach that gets to the root of the issue.

That’s why I started this Functional Medicine practice. Functional Medicine takes a root cause approach rather than focusing on individual symptoms. It sees the individual as a whole, and determines how best to address the underlying physiologic disturbances that led to the development of disease processes and how best to re-balance the body. It includes aspects of diet, lifestyle, exercise, stress relief and sleep as well as more advanced testing. More and more people are waking up to the realization that the Functional Medicine model is the best approach for chronic disease.

Veronica Max

Family Practice Specialist. Direct Primary Care Provider
Founder of UltraPersonal Healthcare

Veronica Max, APRN, FNP:

Veronica sees her role as a guide and advocate, listening attentively to her patients’ health concerns and conveying information in a clear, approachable manner. She values preventive medicine and thrives on finding the root cause of her patient’s problems. She has experience in treating all ages and stages of life, and is especially interested in treating autoimmune conditions, as well as providing prenatal and postnatal care and counseling patients in health optimization. She stays fit and active with Crossfit, and chasing after her 3 children–Bishop, Vaughn, and Deacon with her husband Tucker.

Veronica received her bachelor’s and master’s of science in nursing from Texas Tech University. She also holds a bachelor’s in biochemistry from Samford University, where she played Division I basketball. She is certified in family medicine through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Veronica was recently awarded the 2019 Austin Advanced Practice Nurse Excellence Award.