In brief
- A referral is a transfer of trust. It should come with a process you can see: who your client will speak to, what happens at the first visit, and what you will hear back.
- At Aether the first visit is an hour that decides which tests will actually answer your client's question, before anything is ordered.
- With your client's consent you receive a plain-language summary of what we found and what we recommended, so you stay in the loop and can support the plan in your own work.
- We do not replace you. Your client keeps training, eating, and working with you; our job is the medicine underneath it.
- When one of our patients needs what you do, we send them to you. A referral relationship is a two-way street or it is not a relationship.
1When a client's question leaves your scope
You know the moment. The client is compliant, the program is right, and something is still wrong.
The patterns that most often mean "this is medical, not motivational":
- Fatigue that persists through good sleep and adequate rest.
- Body composition that will not move despite verified adherence to training and nutrition.
- Recovery that has become slow, with fading strength or endurance across weeks.
- Sleep that is broken in a consistent pattern, especially waking in the early hours.
- Changes in mood, libido, cognition or temperature tolerance that the client raises reluctantly.
- A client who has been told "everything is normal" by their doctor and does not believe it.
- A client asking you about testosterone, thyroid, "hormones," peptides, or longevity testing.
None of these means something is seriously wrong. All of them mean a physician should look, with the right tests, and that your client deserves a better answer than a basic panel and a shrug.
2What happens when you refer
You introduce
An email, a text, or a phone call, with your client's permission. We contact them within one business day and mention you by name, so they know the door you opened is the one they are walking through.
One hour to map the question
The first visit is a conversation with Dr. Christian: history, symptoms, what has been tried, what the client wants to be true a year from now, and what you have observed in your work with them if they want that shared. Its purpose is to decide which tests will actually answer the question. Nothing is ordered until that is clear. Clients who arrive expecting a menu of tests are often surprised by this, and are relieved by it.
Testing, then a read-through
Advanced blood work, body composition and fitness measures as indicated. Then a second visit where every result is explained together, in plain language, with a written plan.
A summary back to you
With your client's written consent, you receive a short plain-language note: what we found, what we recommended, and anything that affects your work with them (a training load consideration, a nutrition target, a timeline). You are not left guessing why your client's program should change.
Ongoing coordination
If the plan involves you, we say so, and we stay reachable. If it does not, the summary is the last you hear unless the client or you want otherwise.
| Step | Timing | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Day 0 | Confirmation that we have reached your client |
| First visit | Typically within two weeks | Nothing yet; the client's consent for sharing is collected here |
| Testing and read-through | Two to four weeks after | The plain-language summary, if consented |
| Ongoing | Quarterly re-measure | Updates where they affect your work |
3What we will not do
- We will not replace you. Aether does not run training programs, nutrition coaching or therapy. Your client stays your client.
- We will not go around you. If a recommendation touches your work, you hear it from us, not second-hand from the client.
- We will not pressure your client. The first visit is a conversation. A client who decides this is not for them leaves with that decision respected.
- We will not share without consent. Every summary back to you is at the client's explicit written request. If they decline, we tell you that, and nothing more.
A referral you can see all the way through is the only kind worth putting your name on.
4How to refer, and what to tell your client
Email [email protected] or call 484-806-1101 with your name and your client's name and preferred contact. Or send them to aethermedicine.com/for/partners, where they can request the first visit themselves and name you.
What to tell them: that the first visit is an hour with a physician, that nothing is ordered before that conversation, that the practice is largely not covered by insurance and is transparent about cost before anything is committed, and that with their permission you will be kept in the loop.
5Reciprocity
Aether's patients need what you do. A patient whose plan calls for a structured strength program, a dietitian's oversight, physical therapy, a sports chiropractor or a mental performance coach is referred out, and we refer to the professionals we know and who have sent us patients. We keep a record of referrals in both directions, because a partnership that only flows one way stops flowing.
Before the first referral, Dr. Christian meets every referring professional, in person or on a call. You should know who you are sending people to.
6Two illustrations
Illustrative composites, not real patients. Details are invented to show the process.
A strength coach's client. A 48-year-old executive, training four days a week for two years, with strength stalled for six months and sleep breaking at 3 a.m. The coach refers. The first visit maps the question to sleep, stress hormones and body composition. Testing shows low free testosterone with a high cortisol pattern and declining lean mass. The plan addresses sleep and stress first, adjusts protein and training load with the coach, and adds monitored hormone therapy after a second measurement confirms the deficit. The coach receives the summary, adjusts the program, and the client stays with both of them.
A dietitian's client. A 41-year-old marathoner, fully adherent to a fueling plan, whose long runs have slowed and whose iron the primary care doctor called "fine." The first visit maps the question to iron status and energy availability. Ferritin is low despite a normal hemoglobin; vitamin D is low. The plan corrects both, coordinated with the dietitian's fueling targets, and re-tests at twelve weeks. The dietitian receives the summary and keeps the client.
7Questions referrers ask
- Is there a fee or an arrangement for referring? No. We do not pay for referrals or expect to be paid for them. The relationship is professional and reciprocal.
- What does it cost my client? The practice is largely out of pocket. Costs are explained before anything is committed, and the first visit is where that conversation happens.
- What if my client is under a governing body's anti-doping rules? Tell us, or have them tell us, at the introduction. It shapes what we recommend.
- Will you tell my client to stop working with me? No. If we believe a program should change, you hear it from us, with the reasoning.
About Aether Medicine
Aether Medicine is a physician-led longevity, hormone, metabolic and performance medicine practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serving the Main Line and Greater Philadelphia. Its founder, Asare B. Christian, MD, MPH, is double board-certified and trained at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health and the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Start the conversation
Dr. Christian meets every referring professional before the first referral. Tell us what you do and who you work with.
Introduce yourselfThis paper is educational and describes a referral process. It does not constitute medical advice. Any sharing of patient information occurs only with the patient's explicit written consent and in accordance with applicable privacy law.