A Clinical Evaluation at Regen.MD is a paid clinical investigation rather than an intake appointment, and it has three defined parts. A professional review of your medical history, imaging, and metabolic data before the session; a comprehensive 60-minute physician-led discussion of the root cause of your pain; and a written roadmap of your clinical terrain — the bottlenecks, the sequence, and the instruments indicated [1].
The fee is non-refundable and is not credited toward any subsequent procedure [1]. Diagnosis and intervention are treated as two distinct clinical events, which is why the practice does not offer an unpaid intake visit at any stage.
Why the evaluation is paid
The published position is direct: an unpaid intake visit is a sales conversation, while this evaluation is a physician-led analysis of your history, imaging, and metabolic data followed by a root-cause session and a written roadmap [2]. Patients are accepted only after the required labs and imaging have been provided, because the fee covers the analysis of that data [1].
That constraint exists for a clinical reason rather than an administrative one. Procedures deployed into an unmeasured terrain fail, and the practice declines to spend a patient’s capital proving it [1].
What you send before the session
Metabolic markers
The application asks whether you are currently tracking metabolic health markers — fasting insulin, HbA1c, hs-CRP, and lipids. If that data does not exist, the clinical team directs the required panels before the evaluation rather than proceeding without them [1].
Imaging and prior procedures
Relevant MRI, ultrasound, or CT reports related to the complaint are requested if they exist, along with a history of prior procedures with approximate dates and outcomes [1]. Failed procedures are treated as data, because they indicate what the terrain rejected [1].
Applications are handled through a HIPAA-compliant intake platform [1].
The 60-minute physician-led session
The session is a comprehensive discussion of the root cause of your pain, not a review of paperwork you have already submitted [1]. Because the data review happens first, the appointment time is spent on interpretation and decision support.
The organizing idea is described on the terrain philosophy page: repair depends on the environment tissue is being asked to heal in, not only on what appears on an image. Inflammation is read as a signal about recovery capacity, available energy, and available materials rather than as a finding to be silenced.
The written terrain roadmap
The evaluation produces a written roadmap detailing the bottlenecks, the sequence, and the instruments indicated [1]. It is a decision-support document, which means you leave with the reasoning in writing rather than with verbal guidance you are expected to reconstruct later.
What the roadmap contains is an output of the data review, not a template. It is written only after there is something to interpret, which is why the evaluation is contingent on receiving the metabolic and structural data first [1].
When the roadmap points toward orthobiologics
If the findings support it, the roadmap connects to the orthobiologics service — intraosseous and subchondral platelet-rich plasma, bone marrow aspirate concentrate, Lipogems, and intradiscal orthobiologics among them. Which of those is indicated, and in what order relative to metabolic correction, is the point of writing a sequence rather than naming a procedure.
Peptide and longevity medicine topics enter the discussion when they align with the bottlenecks identified in the review. They are discussed as clinical and educational subjects and are not sold as products.
If your goal is to avoid a joint replacement
For advanced knee osteoarthritis, platelet-rich plasma is framed the way the trial authors framed it — as a safe bridge therapy prior to arthroplasty. No orthobiologic offered here is claimed to regrow or regenerate cartilage, and the evaluation is designed to establish whether a bridge is realistic for you rather than to assume it.
Regen.MD does provide surgery when conservative measures have been exhausted, and Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP is a surgeon. Surgery follows exhausted conservative care; it is not the opening move.
Preparing before you apply
The Masterclass is a clinical education series of fifty episodes covering the biology of pain, inflammation, metabolism, and repair, and it is positioned as pre-education to engage with before an evaluation [3]. Patients who work through it arrive with a shared vocabulary for the session, which changes what an hour can cover.
Where the evaluation takes place
Regen.MD is located at 4477 Woodson Rd, Suite 103, St. Louis, MO 63134, next to St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Applications and scheduling are handled through the clinical team.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the evaluation paid rather than offered at no charge?
Because an unpaid intake visit is a sales conversation and this is a diagnostic one. The published position is that the practice charges for the diagnosis and charges for the intervention as two distinct clinical events, and that the first is never a discount coupon for the second. The reasoning is set out in full on the patient resources page.
What do I need to have ready before the session?
A history of prior procedures with approximate dates and outcomes, metabolic health markers where they exist — fasting insulin, HbA1c, hs-CRP, lipids — and any relevant MRI, ultrasound, or CT reports for the complaint. If the metabolic data is missing, the clinical team directs the required panels before the evaluation, and how those markers connect to tissue repair is discussed alongside physician-directed peptide therapy as a clinical subject.
Will the evaluation tell me whether I can avoid a joint replacement?
It will tell you what your data supports and in what order, which is a more useful answer than yes or no. Where arthroplasty is already the recommendation, platelet-rich plasma is framed as a bridge therapy prior to surgery rather than as a way to rebuild lost cartilage — the broader context is on our surgical alternatives page.
Where does the evaluation take place?
At the clinic at 4477 Woodson Rd, Suite 103, St. Louis, MO 63134, next to St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Directions, parking, and clinic details are on the locations page.
Key takeaways
- The Clinical Evaluation has three parts: pre-session review of history, imaging, and metabolic data; a 60-minute physician-led root-cause discussion; and a written terrain roadmap.
- It is a paid, non-refundable clinical event and is not credited toward any subsequent procedure. There is no unpaid intake visit.
- Cases are accepted only after the required labs and imaging are provided, because the fee covers analysis of that data.
- The roadmap names bottlenecks, the sequence to address them, and the instruments indicated — orthobiologics enter only if the data supports them.
- For advanced knee osteoarthritis, PRP is a bridge prior to arthroplasty; surgery is provided after conservative measures have been exhausted.
Medically reviewed by Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP — Board Certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine, Interventional Pain Management, Addiction Medicine, and Obesity Medicine. Last reviewed August 2026.
This article is educational and is not a substitute for evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment by a physician. Individual results vary, and not every patient is a candidate for the therapies described. Do not start, stop, or change any treatment without consulting your physician. Orthobiologic therapies are not FDA-approved for this indication and are provided as part of physician-directed care.
Find out what is actually driving your pain
Regen.MD begins with a physician-led Clinical Evaluation — a review of your history, imaging, and metabolic data, and a written terrain roadmap. Evaluation is contingent upon review of your data.
Questions? Call (314) 295-3000 or text (314) 886-5902.
Sources
- Regen.MD. “Application for Clinical Evaluation.” 2026. https://regen.md/contact/
- Regen.MD. “The Masterclass — Clinical Education Series.” 2026. https://regen.md/patient-resources/
- Regen.MD. “The Terrain — Our Philosophy of Care.” 2026. https://regen.md/our-approach/