Meet Dr. Ryan Barish, MD
Board-certified physician offering functional medicine care for patients in Michigan and Florida via telehealth.
This page outlines Dr. Barish’s clinical background, advanced training, and the principles that guide his approach to patient care.
A Personal Perspective: Why I Practice This Way
My approach to medicine developed through more than two decades of caring for patients across a wide range of clinical settings and seeing how often chronic health concerns are influenced by factors that extend beyond a single diagnosis.
The more I studied nutrition, lifestyle medicine, and functional medicine, the more it became clear that these principles are not alternative ideas, but medicine practiced with a broader and more complete lens.
Functional medicine gave structure to something I had long believed: patients deserve thoughtful attention, careful listening, and a deeper effort to understand what may be driving symptoms, function, and long-term health.
Watching patients achieve meaningful improvements — often after years of searching for answers — has only deepened my commitment to this work.
My goal is for every patient to feel heard, respected, and confident that their health is being approached with genuine commitment and sound clinical judgment.
Professional Background
Dr. Ryan Barish is a board-certified family physician with more than 20 years of clinical experience, including nearly six years practicing functional and lifestyle medicine full-time within a large integrated healthcare system — in close collaboration with primary care physicians, specialists, and interdisciplinary clinical teams. He has experience in both conventional and integrative medical settings. He completed formal training and certification through the Institute for Functional Medicine and practices a structured, systems-based approach to evaluating complex and chronic health concerns.
Over years of practicing comprehensive primary care across multiple settings—including the management of advanced and end-stage disease—he gained firsthand insight into the long-term progression of chronic illness.
These experiences played a defining role in his decision to focus on upstream, structured, systems-based care.
Founding Barish Functional Medicine
Over time, it became increasingly clear that thoughtful systems-based care benefits from sufficient time, careful structure, experienced clinical reasoning, and access to the tools and resources needed to support deeper evaluation.
Time for careful listening.
Structure for detailed analysis.
Clinical experience for thoughtful implementation.
Barish Functional Medicine was intentionally designed to support this type of work.
Learn more about how care is structured and delivered.
Current Practice Focus
Today, Dr. Barish focuses exclusively on functional medicine, working in collaboration with patients’ primary care physicians and specialists.
This work is grounded in modern biomedical science and a deep respect for the essential role of conventional medical care.
It is designed to complement—not replace—primary care and specialty care when needed.
This approach considers how multiple physiologic systems interact, rather than focusing on isolated diagnoses, helping patients develop a clearer understanding of their health and a more structured path forward.
Credentials at a Glance
Board-Certified in Family Medicine
Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner
Board-Certified in Lifestyle Medicine
Licensed in Michigan and Florida
Clinical Foundation
Dr. Barish earned his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and completed residency training in Family Medicine at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan, where he served as Co-Chief Resident and received multiple honors for clinical excellence and bedside care.
Over more than two decades in clinical practice — including ambulatory family medicine, hospital-based care, urgent care, nursing facility medicine, and sub-acute rehabilitation — he gained broad experience caring for patients across a wide spectrum of acute and chronic health conditions.
His experience includes high-complexity medical decision-making, interdisciplinary coordination, and longitudinal chronic disease management.
This broad clinical foundation continues to inform a structured, medically grounded approach to functional and lifestyle medicine.
Advanced Training in Functional & Systems-Based Medicine
In addition to dual board certification, Dr. Barish completed extensive postgraduate education through the Institute for Functional Medicine, earning designation as a Certified Practitioner.
His advanced training includes focused study in:
Gastrointestinal health and microbiome science
Immune and inflammatory conditions
Cardiometabolic disease
Hormone balance
Environmental health
Cellular bioenergetics
He has also completed advanced coursework in:
laboratory interpretation & hormone testing
SIBO management & stress physiology
targeted nutritional therapeutics
This training supports a systems-based approach grounded in physiology, structured assessment, and thoughtful sequencing of care.
Additional training includes coursework and certification in plant-based nutrition, low-dose naltrexone (LDN), peptide therapy, and advanced hormone and functional laboratory interpretation.
Professional Experience
Dr. Barish has practiced within both traditional ambulatory family medicine and large health system environments across Southeast Michigan.
His clinical experience includes longitudinal chronic disease management, high-complexity outpatient care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and telehealth delivery across state lines.
Within an academic health system setting, he provided functional and lifestyle medicine care, mentored family medicine residents and medical students, and contributed to physician education initiatives.
He has also participated in physician-level peer review, evaluating medical necessity and complex clinical determinations—further strengthening his analytical rigor and commitment to careful clinical reasoning.
Selected Media & Education Contributions
Dr. Barish has contributed to patient education through published health content and clinical teaching.
His work includes contributions to the Henry Ford Health LiveWell blog and national media features, covering topics such as digestive health, the gut microbiome, sleep, stress physiology, and functional medicine principles.
He has also delivered educational talks for physician audiences and patient-focused programs on topics including nutrition, stress physiology, and cardiometabolic health.
Intentional Practice Design
Throughout his career, Dr. Barish has valued longitudinal care, structured clinical reasoning, and physiology-driven decision-making.
Over time, it became clear that this type of work requires sufficient time, attention, and intentional design.
Barish Functional Medicine was built to support deeper evaluation, thoughtful laboratory interpretation, and sustained physician–patient partnership.
By integrating decades of conventional family medicine experience with advanced functional and lifestyle medicine training, this practice emphasizes clarity, structure, and individualized care within a modern, telehealth-forward model.
Clinical Service
In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Barish has provided volunteer medical care as a camp physician, delivering on-site urgent-care–style services and coordinating higher-level care when needed in a residential setting.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dr. Barish
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Yes. Dr. Ryan Barish is a licensed physician (MD) with board certification in Family Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, as well as formal certification through the Institute for Functional Medicine. His approach combines conventional medical training with advanced functional medicine education in a model designed to complement appropriate primary and specialty care.
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No. Care is designed to complement your primary care physician and appropriate specialists, not replace them. Patients should maintain an active relationship with their ongoing medical team.
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Yes. When clinically appropriate, care may include prescription management, thoughtful deprescribing discussions, or coordination with your other treating clinicians.
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Yes. Much of this work centers on careful history, pattern recognition, laboratory interpretation, education, and structured follow-up, which often translates well to telehealth.
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Yes. Prior to founding this practice, Dr. Barish spent nearly six years practicing functional and lifestyle medicine exclusively within a large academic healthcare system, in active collaboration with primary care physicians, specialists, and interdisciplinary clinical teams. That experience continues to inform a bridging approach that respects and integrates conventional medical care.
Care Model
Care is delivered through a structured telehealth model designed to support focused, uninterrupted clinical visits.
Because this work centers on careful history, detailed analysis, and thoughtful interpretation, it translates well to a virtual environment while allowing for greater flexibility, continuity, and access to care.
You can learn more about how the practice operates here: Where Is Dr. Barish →
Beyond Medicine
Outside of medicine, Dr. Barish is a husband and father of two boys.
He enjoys spending time outdoors, reading, learning, and staying active. He also enjoys time with his two dogs, Ruby and Vinny—experiences that continue to shape his perspective on health, balance, and the importance of building a life supported by long-term well-being.
Licensure & Availability
Dr. Barish is licensed in the State of Michigan and registered to provide telehealth services in the State of Florida.
Care is delivered in accordance with applicable state regulations and professional standards.
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