Patient navigation

LLMD Directory

Search ILADS, IFM, LymeDisease.org, and Canadian provincial organizations for Lyme-literate and tick-borne illness practitioners. June 2026: HHS & ILADS strategic partnership integrates the ILADS clinician locator into federal health resources.

Primary referral portals

Start with these organizations for direct practitioner searches.

Each organization maintains its own directory with independent credentialing standards, privacy protections, and search tools.

ILADS — International • all practice types

ILADS Provider Search

Official provider database of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society. Includes MDs, DOs, NDs, NPs, and other licensed practitioners who self-identify as treating Lyme and tick-borne disease. Search by postal code and country; select all practice types for the widest results. ILADS does not certify individual providers.

Search tips: Use the postal code of the nearest large city. Set distance to 100 miles. Select "All Practice Types." Leave "Limit results to ILADS PTP" unchecked. If no results appear, email providersearch@ilads.org with your location.

Search ILADS

IFM — International • functional medicine practitioners

Institute for Functional Medicine — Find a Practitioner

The IFM directory includes MDs, DOs, NDs, DCs, nutritionists, and other licensed health professionals with IFM training. To find practitioners who work with Lyme and chronic infections, search by country and city, then filter results for clinicians who list infectious disease, chronic illness, immune dysfunction, Lyme disease, or environmental medicine in their practice focus.

Search tips: IFM certification (IFMCP) indicates advanced training. Not all IFM practitioners treat Lyme/TBD. Review individual profiles for keywords: "Lyme," "tick-borne," "vector-borne," "chronic infection," "mold illness," "CIRS," "MCAS," "autoimmune," or "complex chronic disease." Contact the office before booking to confirm they treat your condition.

Search IFM

LymeDisease.org — United States

LymeDisease.org Physician Referral

Connecting patients with Lyme-literate doctors for 25+ years. Free registration required to access the referral system because many LLMDs protect their contact information for privacy and professional safety reasons.

Register for Referral

Lyme Disease Association — United States

LDA Doctor Referral System

Established referral pathway for patients looking for Lyme-aware medical care in the United States. The LDA provides referrals but does not recommend individual physicians.

Request LDA Referral

Global Lyme Alliance — United States / International

GLA Patient Support & Navigation

Patient navigation services and educational resources. GLA can help patients understand treatment options and identify research-informed care pathways.

GLA Patient Resources

Treat Lyme by Marty Ross, MD — Practitioner training resource

Treat Lyme: LLMD Referral Portal

Dr. Marty Ross maintains one of the most widely referenced LLMD education and treatment resources. His site includes a practitioner referral page connecting patients with clinicians who treat tick-borne illness.

Treat Lyme Referrals

UK & Europe

Lyme Disease Action (UK) & European Advocacy Groups

UK and European patients can search ILADS for international members, contact Lyme Disease Action for UK-specific referrals, and check local patient organizations for country-specific practitioner leads.

LDA UK Referrals

Australia & New Zealand

Lyme Disease Association of Australia & NZ Support

Australian and New Zealand patients should start with ILADS international search, the Lyme Disease Association of Australia for local practitioner leads, and functional medicine practitioners searchable via IFM.

LDAA Resources

LADA Navigation

LADA Referral Intake

Submit your region, symptoms, MSIDS score, and care barriers. LADA will help navigate you to the appropriate search tools and, over time, build a consent-based curated directory.

Start Intake
Testing sources

Specialty labs and diagnostic sources to discuss with a Lyme-literate clinician.

Testing is strongest when the lab matches the clinical question. Serology, immunoblot, PCR, FISH, culture enrichment, urine antigen, and public-health testing each answer different questions; none can rule out every infection alone.

Best-fit testing sources by infection

Clinical question Strong sources to discuss Why clinicians use them
Lyme / Borrelia IGeneX, Galaxy Diagnostics, ArminLabs, Vibrant Wellness, MDL, standard reference labs Expanded Borrelia immunoblot/serology, relapsing fever Borrelia coverage, PCR/direct detection, urine antigen options, and standard two-tier tests when insurance or conventional documentation matters.
Bartonella Galaxy Diagnostics, TLab, IGeneX, MDL, Vibrant Wellness, ArminLabs Bartonella can be low-level, intracellular, and intermittently present in blood. Clinicians often combine antibody testing with direct detection such as digital PCR, enrichment culture, FISH, or species-aware PCR.
Babesia IGeneX, TLab, Galaxy Diagnostics, MDL, Vibrant Wellness, public-health or hospital labs for acute/severe cases Babesia testing may require smear, PCR, FISH, antibody testing, and hemolysis labs. Species awareness matters for B. microti, B. duncani, B. divergens-like organisms, and suspected B. odocoilei.
Mycoplasma MDL, Vibrant Wellness, ArminLabs, Quest/LabCorp/Mayo/ARUP through a clinician Mycoplasma workups may use PCR, IgG/IgM serology, respiratory panels, or broader chronic-infection panels depending on whether the concern is acute respiratory illness, urogenital infection, or chronic overlap.
Other tick-borne diseases MDL, IGeneX, Vibrant Wellness, ArminLabs, state health departments, CDC-supported public-health testing Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Borrelia miyamotoi, tularemia, Powassan, Heartland, Bourbon, tick-borne encephalitis, and other rare infections often need timing-aware PCR, paired serology, or public-health lab coordination.

Galaxy Diagnostics

Best fit: Bartonella-first evaluation and stealth pathogen direct detection.

  • Digital PCR and triple-draw options for Bartonella, Babesia, and Borrelia.
  • BAPGM enrichment culture plus Bartonella serology for low-level or intermittent Bartonella.
  • Nanotrap urine antigen testing for Lyme Borrelia OspA when antibody testing is not enough.

galaxydx.com

IGeneX

Best fit: broad Lyme, relapsing fever Borrelia, Babesia, Bartonella, and co-infection testing.

  • Expanded Lyme and tick-borne disease test menu, including Borrelia, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia/Anaplasma, and Rickettsia pages.
  • Useful when a clinician wants species-aware immunoblot, FISH, PCR, or tick-testing options.
  • Patients can order collection kits, but the doctor and patient complete paperwork together for the tests to run.

igenex.com

TLab

Best fit: direct molecular imaging for difficult Bartonella, Babesia, and Borrelia questions.

  • RNA-based FISH molecular imaging for Bartonella, Babesia, and Borrelia in blood.
  • High-resolution blood imaging for biofilms, red-cell inclusions, and inflammatory blood-film patterns.
  • Patients should work through a physician or qualified clinician to request and interpret testing.

tlabdx.com

Vibrant Wellness

Best fit: broad screening panels through functional and integrative clinicians.

  • Infection testing category includes tick-borne testing and co-infection evaluation.
  • Often used when clinicians want a wide initial screen alongside immune, toxin, nutrient, or neurologic panels.
  • Provider-ordered workflow with blood-draw and at-home collection options depending on the test.

vibrant-wellness.com/tests

ArminLabs

Best fit: European and international Lyme/co-infection testing.

  • EliSpot/iSpot cellular immune-response tests, TickPlex, serology, CD57, and tick testing.
  • Useful when European Borrelia species, international travel, or cellular immune response is part of the workup.
  • Offers laboratory diagnostic consultation for doctors and naturopaths.

arminlabs.com

MDL

Best fit: PCR-heavy vector-borne and Mycoplasma testing.

  • Vector-borne catalog includes Babesia, Bartonella, multiple Borrelia species, Ehrlichia/Anaplasma, Rickettsia, and rare viral options.
  • Mycoplasma menu includes M. fermentans, M. pneumoniae, M. hominis, M. penetrans, and broader Mycoplasma PCR options.
  • Often useful when a clinician wants targeted PCR and insurance-facing lab infrastructure.

mdlab.com

Testing cautions

  • Acute fever, severe headache, confusion, jaundice, dark urine, low platelets, pregnancy, immune suppression, or no spleen should be treated as urgent medical situations, not routine specialty-lab shopping.
  • Serology can miss early or immune-suppressed disease; PCR and FISH can miss low-level or intermittent infection. Repeat timing during flares may matter.
  • Most specialty testing should be ordered and interpreted by a clinician who understands the patient's geography, exposure history, immune status, symptoms, and medication risks.
Canadian resources

Provincial support contacts and Lyme organizations across Canada.

These contacts are compiled from CanLyme and provincial Lyme organizations. They are patient advocacy and support contacts, not medical providers. Use ILADS and IFM searches to find treating clinicians in Canada.

Nova Scotia

  • Donna Lugar — NS Lyme Support Group
    Donna.lugar@outlook.com • 902-718-9000
  • Facebook: Lyme Disease in Nova Scotia & the Atlantic Provinces

British Columbia

  • BC Lyme — British Columbia Lyme disease patient support and advocacy.

Important: Canadian practitioner access

LLMD access in Canada is limited. Many Canadian Lyme-literate practitioners are family physicians, naturopathic doctors, or integrative medicine practitioners who do not advertise publicly. Cross-border telehealth with US-based LLMDs is an option some patients pursue, though insurance coverage and provincial regulations vary. Start with the ILADS provider search and the IFM directory (filter by Canada), then contact provincial Lyme organizations for additional leads.

Institutional programs

Academic medical centers and hospital-affiliated Lyme programs.

These programs are associated with universities and teaching hospitals. They generally operate within conventional medical frameworks and may have different treatment philosophies than private LLMDs, but offer research-informed evaluation and can be a starting point for diagnosis.

Columbia University Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center

  • Director: Brian A. Fallon, MD
  • Location: New York, NY
  • Focus: Research, clinical evaluation, neuropsychiatric Lyme, persistent infection
  • columbia-lyme.org

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital — Dean Center for Tick-Borne Illness

  • Affiliation: Harvard Medical School
  • Location: Boston, MA
  • Focus: Multidisciplinary care, rehabilitation, cognitive assessment, functional recovery
  • Dean Center web page

Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center

  • Director: John Aucott, MD
  • Location: Baltimore, MD
  • Focus: Research, clinical studies, post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS)
  • hopkinslyme.org

Stony Brook Medicine — Lyme Disease Clinic

  • Location: Stony Brook, NY (Suffolk County, Long Island)
  • Focus: Clinical evaluation and treatment in a high-endemic region
  • Stony Brook Lyme Clinic

Massachusetts General Hospital — Lyme Disease Program

  • Affiliation: Harvard Medical School
  • Location: Boston, MA
  • Focus: Infectious disease consultation, research
  • MGH Lyme Program

Stanford Lyme Disease Working Group

  • Location: Stanford, CA
  • Focus: Research, clinical trials, multidisciplinary Lyme evaluation
  • Stanford Lyme Group
Practitioner evaluation

How to evaluate a Lyme-literate or functional medicine practitioner.

Finding the right practitioner is as important as finding any practitioner. These questions and criteria help patients prepare for informed conversations.

Credentials and training

  • What medical licensure do they hold? (MD, DO, ND, NP, PA)
  • Are they ILADS members? Have they completed ILADS physician training?
  • Do they hold IFM certification (IFMCP) or other functional medicine credentials?
  • How many years have they treated Lyme and tick-borne illness?
  • Do they participate in continuing education, conferences, or research?

Clinical approach

  • Do they follow ILADS guidelines, MSIDS framework, or another established model?
  • Do they consider co-infections (Bartonella, Babesia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia)?
  • Do they evaluate for mold/CIRS, MCAS, POTS, and environmental factors?
  • How do they approach treatment sequencing? (Antimicrobials first? Immune support first? Both?)
  • What testing do they use? (Standard two-tier, immunoblot, specialty labs, direct testing)

Safety and monitoring

  • Do they order baseline and follow-up safety labs (CBC, CMP, liver, kidney)?
  • How do they monitor for medication interactions, toxicity, and adverse effects?
  • Do they have clear stop rules and monitoring protocols for intensive treatments?
  • How do they handle psychiatric safety, pregnancy, and medication sensitivity?
  • Is there a documented plan for what happens if treatment causes worsening or no improvement?

Practical considerations

  • What is the appointment availability and typical wait time?
  • Do they accept insurance, or is it fee-for-service/cash-pay?
  • What is the cost range for initial consultation and follow-up visits?
  • Is telehealth available if in-person visits are not feasible?
  • Do they coordinate with your existing primary care physician and other specialists?
Directory ethics & disclaimer

LADA navigates — you and your clinician decide.

LADA does not credential, certify, recommend, or warrant any individual practitioner. The organizations listed above maintain their own search tools, credentialing standards, and data privacy protections. Some practitioners intentionally keep their names private. Always independently evaluate any clinician's qualifications, experience, and fit for your specific medical situation.