It’s all about the patient.
That’s been the mantra at Allergychoices since day one, when our founder Dr. David Morris decided to make a critical step. For 30 years, his La Crosse, Wisconsin, allergy practice was a destination for the typical allergy sufferers as well as “last resort” allergic patients who had tried most every treatment under the sun without relief – until they landed at his doorstep. They’d heard from friends, neighbors, doctors, and various sources about an allergy clinic in Wisconsin that approached treatment a little differently.
The clinic didn’t offer miracles, but they did offer hope with a treatment that had proven hugely successful among a large swath of patients who had suffered from environmental and food allergies, as well as a host of conditions that are common with allergy sufferers.
Dr. Morris had learned in the early 1960s about a treatment called sublingual immunotherapy, which essentially treated allergies like the traditional shot/injection method by introducing small amounts of offending allergens to patients, helping them slowly build tolerance. But instead of giving the allergens via an injection, he delivered them in a liquid solution placed under the tongue – which is a site highly amenable to building allergen tolerance.
Once he began treating area farmers with mold allergies using the method, he began to treat other allergies as patients found this treatment to be easier to tolerate and highly effective. Those patients told their friends, neighbors, and family members, and the news spread across the country through word of mouth. But not all patients who heard about his treatment were able to travel to Wisconsin for treatment, which led him to an epiphany in 2000.
Having been approached by many patients looking for his sublingual treatment closer to home, and many providers looking to learn how to treat patients as Dr. Morris had done, he was determined to find a way to share what he and his partners had refined through the years. That was the birth of Allergychoices, a company Dr. Morris formed with his daughter, Dr. Mary Morris. Allergychoices focused on training other allergy specialists on their protocol and helping patients find those providers closer to home.
Fifteen years and more than 1,400 physicians and 50,000 patients later, Allergychoices continues to provide education, resources and services to practices interested in using what has become the La Crosse Method™ Protocol. And Allergychoices provides customized prescription services to patients interested in getting help for their environmental and food allergies through the company’s pharmacy.
For practices, we’ve been able to provide the benefit of a consistent, efficacious, and safe protocol that has been used by more 1,400 providers around the country and tools to make it work within their practices. For patients, we’ve had the good fortune to provide hope and another opportunity to change the course of their allergic disease safely, precisely, effectively, and affordably. And that’s what we believe it’s always been about.
Author: Anne Hendrickson