Digital health care firm expands through acquisition

NAPLES — Hughes Center for Functional Medicine has a new doctor, new leadership, new ownership and a new name.

Dr. Pamela Hughes, who founded the practice in 2015, has entered into an agreement to sell to HealthLynked Corp., a Naples-based public company in the digital health care space that incorporated in 2014. The practice has been renamed Naples Center for Functional Medicine, according to a statement. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. 

Hughes acquired the former Perlmutter Health Center in 2015 and has expanded its menu of services to include functional medicine practices such as nutritional analysis, diagnostic testing, IV therapy, supplement therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Functional medicine is an evidence-based, holistic approach to medical care that identifies the root causes of illness or pain while also focusing on wellness and prevention. Hughes, who is relocating from the area, has signed a four-year consultancy agreement with HealthLynked, the release states. 

To lead the transition, Dr. Carol Roberts has been promoted to medical director. A specialist in natural and holistic healing, Roberts provides patients with nutritional counseling, natural hormone replacement, detoxification, treatment of chronic illness, medicinal cannabis and holistic medical weight loss. 

The practice has also hired Dr. Eduardo Maristany, a board-certified internal medicine physician trained by the Institute of Functional Medicine. The clinic’s staff will remain in place, according to a statement.

HealthLynked provides efficient exchange of medical information via a cloud-based platform that allows direct connection between patients and providers. It had $2.25 million in revenue in 2018.