Westport Headache Institute

05/14/2026

Insurance companies say they’re “managing costs.”
What many patients experience instead is delay, denial, and exhaustion.

As a neurologist, I’ve learned something uncomfortable:

The system often doesn’t reward the best treatment.
It rewards the best documentation, persistence, and escalation strategy.

The patients who get approved fastest are rarely the sickest.
They’re usually the ones who know how to fight the system.

That should bother all of us.

Prior authorizations now consume hours of physician time every week while patients wait, worsen, miss work, land in the ER, or simply give up. Meanwhile, many first denials are generated before a specialist ever reviews the case.

Healthcare has quietly become a war of attrition.

So here’s the question:

Should medically necessary care depend on how aggressively a patient and physician can navigate insurance bureaucracy?

What’s the most absurd denial you’ve ever seen?

02/28/2026

Chronic migraine is a complex neurological condition that can significantly impact work, relationships, and overall quality of life. Research also shows that many patients face barriers to diagnosis and treatment depending on their background or access to care.

A study called the COMPEL trial recently explored an important question: Do preventive migraine treatments work similarly for people from different racial and ethnic groups?

Our Medical Director, Dr. Deena Kuruvilla, served as a study author in the post-hoc analysis of this phase-4 COMPEL trial and was recently interviewed by NeurologyLive® to discuss the findings.

Today we will discuss what the findings mean for patients.

Check out the full blog post at the link in our bio!

01/30/2026

As winter continues, many people notice changes that are difficult to explain but easy to feel –  lower energy, more frequent headaches, or difficulty focusing.

From a brain health perspective, experiences like these are common during late winter and often reflect how the brain responds to changes in routine, environment, and cumulative demands over time.

We explore this topic further in our latest blog post. Link in bio.

01/21/2026

01/12/2026

As the year begins, many people feel pressure to reset everything at once.

At Brain Health Institute, we tend to think about brain health a little differently. Rather than dramatic changes, we focus on consistency, awareness, and habits that are sustainable over time.

This year, instead of resolutions, you may consider focusing on one habit, one symptom, and one question about your brain health.

We share more about this approach in our latest blog post (link in bio).

12/21/2025

Your brain doesn’t suddenly age later in life.

Changes in brain health can begin much earlier than most people expect — and they don’t always look like memory loss.

In our latest blog post, we share what patients should know about early brain health changes, the role of stress and headaches, and the everyday habits that support long-term brain health.

Read the full post at the link in our bio.

12/14/2025

Meet Dr. Kuruvilla, our Medical Director and Board-Certified Neurologist. Dr. Kuruvilla leads our clinic with a focus on thoughtful, patient-centered brain health and headache care. We’re grateful for her expertise and look forward to sharing more insights from her here.

12/09/2025

Sharing brain health — with a refreshed look.