Practice: Serendipity Health & Wellness
Founder: Marissa Roberts, APRN
Platform: OptiMantra
Model: Hybrid (60% Membership/Self-Pay, 40% Insurance-Based)
Meet Marissa Roberts, APRN
With over 25 years of healthcare experience, Marissa Roberts, APRN, set out to create a different kind of primary care experience—one that values connection as much as clinical excellence. At Serendipity Health & Wellness, she’s doing just that. Her membership-based, integrative practice blends functional and conventional medicine to uncover root causes and empower lifelong wellness.
Known for her approachable style, Marissa is passionate about building genuine relationships with patients — creating a safe space for healing and growth. Under her leadership, Serendipity has become a collaborative, inclusive practice rooted in autonomy and evidence-based care. Whether treating chronic conditions, leading programs, or mentoring peers, her mission remains clear:
“Our goal is to change the way healthcare feels — one visit, one voice, one empowered person at a time.”
Challenge: Building a Relationship-Driven, Hybrid Model
Serendipity was born out of a desire to move from reactionary care to relationship-centered, preventative wellness. The membership model gave Marissa and her team the freedom to slow down, spend more time with patients, and provide care that goes beyond symptom management.
“We built Serendipity with the intention of shifting from reactionary care to relationship-centered, preventative wellness,” says Marissa. “The membership model allows us to focus on whole-human care — not just symptom management — and to form genuine, ongoing partnerships with our patients. It gives us the freedom to slow down, listen, and truly get to the root cause. That’s the heart of what we do.”
Bridging the Gap with Insurance
Still, accessibility mattered. Serendipity became a hybrid practice — currently 60% membership/self-pay and 40% insurance-based — allowing patients to engage with the care model that works best for them.
Accepting insurance was intentional, offering a gateway for more individuals to experience holistic, personalized care.
“It’s a bridge — a way to welcome more people into a safe space for healing and education.”
Despite the known challenges of insurance implementation, Marissa and her team approached it with a “figure-it-out” mindset, and were able to successfully credential with many different payers and start billing directly through OptiMantra.
Tebra’s Limitations and the Search for Better
As Serendipity’s vision expanded, its original platform, Tebra, fell short. From inflexible workflows to poor customer support, it became clear that a more intuitive and supportive system was needed. Tebra served Serendipity in its early stages, but as the practice evolved into a more integrative, hybrid model, the limitations became clear — and increasingly disruptive.
“We were creating workarounds that weren’t sustainable. It caused burnout and inefficiency. Tebra worked for a season, but as we grew, we needed a system that was more customizable and intuitive.”
The platform simply couldn’t keep up with the demands of a practice that blends functional and conventional care. Key pain points included:
- Fragmentation: The team had to rely on multiple external systems to fill the gaps, leading to duplicated efforts and missed connections between clinical, billing, and communication tools.
- Workflow Strain: To make the system work, staff created custom workarounds — often repeating tasks or manually patching data — which led to burnout, inefficiencies, and time loss.
- Poor Customer Support: When issues arose (and they often did), support was hard to reach. Tickets went unanswered, resolution was rare, and the team found themselves combing message boards and Reddit threads for answers.
“We were patching together solutions just to function. That’s not sustainable when your goal is to deliver high-touch, high-quality care.”
Ultimately, the tech that was supposed to support Serendipity’s growth had become a roadblock. The stress it added — on both team and operations — made it clear: they needed a platform aligned with their mission, not working against it.
Finding the Right Fit with OptiMantra
After evaluating several platforms, Serendipity chose OptiMantra for its ability to support hybrid models, streamline operations, and honor the personalized care that defines their practice — a perfect match for Serendipity’s unique hybrid model. Features like membership management, integrated billing, portal messaging, and customizable templates made it a seamless upgrade.
“OptiMantra stood out because it was built with personalization in mind. The ability to support memberships, customize templates, and manage both clinical and administrative workflows in one place was perfect. It just got us. The integrations were a bonus.”
Transitioning was smooth thanks to OptiMantra’s hands-on onboarding team, which helped configure the platform to align with Serendipity’s exact needs.
“The customer service sealed the deal for us.”
Onboarding & Membership Setup: A Supportive Start
Switching to a new system can be daunting, but for Marissa and the Serendipity team, OptiMantra’s onboarding process was a breath of fresh air. Unlike past experiences that felt rigid and checklist-driven, OptiMantra offered a personalized, hands-on approach that made the transition feel like a true partnership.
“Night and day — no comparison,” Marissa recalls. “With OptiMantra, we felt like we had a partner — not just a platform. The onboarding was clear, hands-on, personalized, and truly supportive.”
Setting up membership packages — often a sticking point in traditional systems — was surprisingly simple. OptiMantra’s intuitive interface allowed the team to easily build custom packages that reflected the way they actually care for patients. There was no need to conform to preset templates or force workflows to fit awkward molds.
“We didn’t have to force square pegs into round holes. We created packages that matched our care model — and the platform supported it beautifully.”
The ease of setup meant Serendipity could start delivering relationship-based, membership-driven care without delay, allowing their team to stay focused on patients rather than tech hurdles.
Enhancing Hybrid Care & Connection
Since adopting OptiMantra, Serendipity Health & Wellness has seen a meaningful transformation in how care is delivered and experienced. The platform’s streamlined tools — from automated appointment reminders to secure, user-friendly messaging — have made it easier to stay present and responsive in every patient interaction. Whether patients are visiting in person or virtually, communication feels more natural, timely, and thoughtful.
“OptiMantra has helped us show up more consistently and more personally.”
Behind the scenes, the platform has brought clarity and calm to the team’s workflow. Tasks that once felt fragmented or burdensome now happen smoothly, allowing the Serendipity staff to focus on what they do best: building relationships and delivering care with heart. The result? Patients feel more supported, and the team feels more energized.
Tools That Empower Both Team and Patients
Serendipity now runs on a cohesive tech stack that supports both efficiency and warmth:
- OptiMantra: EHR, scheduling, billing, patient portal, communication
- DeepCura AI: Medical scribe to reduce documentation burden - integrated directly into the OptiMantra EMR
- Google Workspace: Team collaboration
- Spruce Health: Secure team and patient communication
“Every system we use must support two things: efficiency and heart.”
Results: More Time, Less Stress, Deeper Care
Since adopting OptiMantra, Serendipity has gained back invaluable time and reduced team stress — all while enhancing patient connection and growing the practice.
“The seamless integration of charting, a patient portal (that actually works well) and billing has been everything- the fact that the system all works together and works how it's supposed to work is 100% what I LOVE about Optimantra. It sounds small, but if you've come from a system that was disjointed, always down, didn't function smoothly, and had little to no assistance- you understand how important a seamlessly functional system is. It saves us so much time and headaches. The fact that everything just works together is a game changer. We’re no longer bogged down by clunky workarounds.”
A new favorite? DeepCura AI integration — giving back precious hours by reducing documentation load.
Advice for Other Providers
“Start with your why. Build [your business and business model] from your values, not the status quo. Be brave, be scrappy, and surround yourself with community.”
And if you’re looking for a platform?
“If you value connection, customization, and whole-person care — this is your platform. OptiMantra feels like it was built by people who get the heart of medicine.”
What’s Next?
Marissa’s vision for Serendipity continues to evolve — with new wellness programs, virtual education, and collaborations on the horizon. One thing remains constant: the commitment to delivering relationship-driven care that helps people live their best lives.
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