Dr. Linda Harkavy is a physician with a remarkable journey, transitioning from a pioneering career in radiology to opening a cutting-edge wellness and aesthetics practice. Her story is one of lifelong learning, unwavering dedication, and a profound desire to shift the paradigm of healthcare from disease management to proactive health.
Growing up on Long Island, Dr. Harkavy was inspired by her father, a beloved internist who served as her mentor. She vividly recalls a childhood experience that set her on her path.
“When I was four, he would sometimes take me on house calls with him. Someone once said to me, ‘Oh, you’re gonna be your Daddy’s nurse when you grow up.’ I remember thinking, ‘No way. I’m going to be a doctor, like he is,” she shared.
This early determination led her to Brown University, followed by New York Medical College, an internship at Cornell Medical Center, and a residency and fellowship at NYU, where she made history as the first woman to serve as Chief Resident in Radiology for many years.
A Career Defined by Firsts and Forward Thinking
Dr. Harkavy’s professional life has been marked by innovation and leadership. After her academic pursuits, she ventured into private practice. In 1992, she opened Sunrise Medical Imaging in Valley Stream, Long Island.
As she recalled, this was a significant step: “I was pretty much the first practice on the East Coast to have an open MRI. That was an exciting and crucial step.”
She ran this successful practice for nearly two decades before the evolving landscape of outpatient radiology led her to merge with an orthopedic group. Eventually, with the onset of COVID-19, she decided to retire.
However, retirement proved to be a temporary state for Dr. Harkavy. After two and a half years, she realized being retired didn’t work for her as she felt a need to be doing something.
This longing to contribute stemmed from a long-standing interest in integrative medicine, a passion ignited in 1993 when she took the first course on integrative medicine with Andrew Weil, widely regarded as the father of integrative medicine. This deep-seated interest, coupled with the freedom afforded by her later work, allowed her to pursue numerous courses in hormone replacement, peptides, integrated medicine, and functional medicine.
“Integrative medicine was always a passion of mine that I always came back to through the years,” she stated.
Forging a New Path: Form & Function Aesthetics and Wellness
At the age of 69, Dr. Harkavy embarked on a new chapter, driven by a desire to focus on patient health instead of patient disease. This vision materialized in the opening of Form & Function Aesthetics and Wellness. While her practice offers aesthetic services, her true passion lies in wellness, particularly in weight loss, hormone replacement, and overall well-being.
Dr. Harkavy’s extensive experience as a radiologist has made her a little bit of a device junkie, leading her to equip her practice with state-of-the-art technology. She highlighted the BTL devices geared towards wellness, specifically praising the EMSELLA, an amazing and completely noninvasive, comfortable treatment for incontinence and sexual function, as well as the EMSCULPT, which is amazing for building muscle.
A recent and exciting addition to her practice is the ExoMind, a device based on TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation), a 40-year-old technology initially developed for treating major depression, re-engineered for mental and emotional wellness.
She raved about the results, saying, “My practice has been treating patients who have experienced fantastic results. I’ve had patients tell me they’ve slept for the first time in years, they’re no longer in a reactive state, and don’t have an urge to binge. It’s a really great device.”
When asked about her favorite aspect of her work, Dr. Harkavy enthusiastically pointed to the ExoMind. She also expressed a deep satisfaction with hormone replacement therapy, especially for retired and disabled first responders.
She explained her connection with this demographic, stating, “I love working with retired first responders on weight loss and hormone replacement therapy, because they’re so used to being active and feeling great until they retire. Then they get out of those active routines and have difficulty returning to a healthy place physically.”
She finds it incredibly rewarding to help them regain their “Mojo.”
A Paradigm Shift in Healthcare
Dr. Harkavy’s decision to pivot her career was not sudden; it was the culmination of years of interest and a growing conviction that healthcare needs a fundamental change.
“It was something I’ve always been interested in. I’ve been taking courses in integrative medicine, functional medicine, aesthetics, peptides, and hormones for years, not knowing exactly how I would use them. Still, I had some idea in the back of my mind,” she explained.
She also acknowledged a shift in her feelings towards radiology, explaining, “I really loved radiology when I had an office and patients came in, and I could talk with other doctors. That profession now has you sitting in a darkroom behind a computer, not interacting directly with anyone. That wasn’t for me anymore.” Her desire for human connection and interaction now drives her work.
The COVID-19 pandemic further solidified her belief in the need for a paradigm shift in healthcare.
“The health care industry has been so focused on crisis management and only taking care of people once they get sick. I wanted to do something to take care of people so they don’t get sick. Then they get to experience what it feels like to be healthy,” she asserted.
Dr. Harkavy views her practice as a vital part of this shift, emphasizing prevention and early intervention to keep people healthy from a young age.
Empowering Clients Through Comprehensive Wellness
Dr. Harkavy actively promotes diet and exercise to all her clients. She is even developing an AI app for nutrition that will provide personalized meal plans based on her philosophies, offering recipes, ingredients, and even ordering capabilities. Her future aspirations include developing functional exercise programs to maximize health and strength in minimal time, a concept she and her husband, an orthopedic surgeon, often dream about doing together.
She vividly described the impact she makes on her clients, citing the example of a 57-year-old retired fireman who has lost his vitality, struggling with weight gain, injuries, and low testosterone. Dr. Harkavy currently works with him on weight loss, hormone balancing, and lifestyle changes, helping him find alternative exercises and encouraging social interaction.
She recalled one client’s enthusiastic response to the ExoMind device, saying they feel refreshed and their brain fog is finally going away.
She also highlighted the satisfaction of helping clients, such as a 65-year-old woman preparing for her daughter’s wedding. Dr. Harkavy has helped improve her skin and overall appearance through treatments like plasma, significantly boosting her confidence. As she said, “patients use these treatment protocols and feel like a new person.”
A Welcoming and Modern Practice
Form & Function Aesthetics and Wellness, which celebrated its grand opening on July 9th, 2024, is located in East Meadow, Long Island, serving a “socio-economically mixed area.” The practice boasts a beautiful, clean, and modern-looking space, with four examining rooms and a wide range of wellness devices. The positive feedback from clients, who often comment on the welcoming atmosphere and friendly staff, is a source of pride for Dr. Harkavy. A sign on her wall encapsulates her philosophy: “It seems impossible until it’s done.“
Dr. Harkavy emphasized her accessibility to clients. “I talk to everybody. I’m very accessible, whether by email or a quick call. I like my patients knowing I’m here for them to help in any way I can,” she explained.
While some treatments are monthly, like weight loss and hormone therapy, others, like device treatments, are often a six-week course followed by a two-month check-up. Injectables and fillers have varying frequencies, but she noted, “once people come in, they see all the other treatments we offer and are usually curious to see how they can help their wellness journey.”
Education, Empowerment, and the Five Pillars of Wellness
Dr. Harkavy is deeply committed to educating and empowering her clients.
“So much of what we do is about empowering our patients through educating them on healthy lifestyle changes and beyond,” she stated. The whole philosophy of my practice is to implement treatments and improve lifestyle choices to help people’s bodies heal themselves.”
She believes in providing the body with the resources it needs to be optimal, preferring natural approaches over an overreliance on pharmaceuticals. While acknowledging the place for certain medications, she generally aims to stay away from them, focusing on helping people be as healthy as possible based on their own bodies.
Dr. Harkavy believes that since the COVID-19 pandemic, people are seeking a proactive approach to health.
She distilled her wellness philosophy into five key pillars: “It comes down to good nutrition, moderate exercise, sleep, stress management, and community—having friends and being social.” These, she asserted, are the five pillars of wellness.
Beyond her professional life, Dr. Harkavy enjoys hiking and being outdoors, finding her happy place in nature. She is also the proud mother of two accomplished daughters, one of whom works for Google and the other for a consulting firm. Her dedication to her family and her renewed passion for helping others achieve optimal health underscore Dr. Linda Harkavy’s remarkable and inspiring journey.
To learn more about her practice, Form & Function, visit her website at https://formandfunctionaesthetics.com/.
