david krainacker MD

Lifestyle Medicine

Practice Emphasis
Weight management
Culinary medicine
Related Programs
Accepting New Patients
Offers Virtual Visits
Member of St. Peter's Medical Group

About Me

David Krainacker, MD is board certified in Family Medicine, Obesity Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine. He received his medical degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He completed his Family Practice residency training at Pennsylvania State University and has been practicing medicine in Helena since 1998. In 2022, he became a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.

Dr. Krainacker specializes in the treatment of obesity (or as he prefers to call it, adiposity-based chronic disease). His training and treatment plans for weight management incorporate a variety of methods, including lifestyle changes, diet, meditation, exercise and medication. A firm believer in food as medicine, he has taken over 50 hours of training in the field of culinary medicine (treating by eating!). 

He is an avid gardener, and involved with Helena Community Gardens. Every year the plots he helps tend produce thousands of pounds of produce that is donated to our neighbors at Helena Food Share.

Dr. Krainacker’s other interests include hiking, backpacking and nature photography. He loves to run the trails here in Helena. He is a history fanatic, and finds all eras and countries fascinating. In his spare time, he also loves assembling jigsaw puzzles.

He has been married to his wife, Nina, since 1992. They have three grown children, two of whom still live in Helena. He is a member of St. Mary Catholic Community.  His family also includes three rescue dogs and one rescue cat who thinks he is her servant.

Education & Training

Medical School

Creighton University School of Medicine

Post Graduate

University of California Davis

Residency

Good Samaritan Hospital

Board Certifications

American Board of Family Medicine and American Board of Obesity Medicine

Insurance

St. Peter's Health accepts most major insurances but may not be contracted with them all. To verify if we are in-network with your specific insurance, contact your insurance carrier.

Patients are expected to furnish all the necessary health insurance information and sign the medical release and insurance assignment authorizations. St. Peter’s Health will submit complete insurance claims on the appropriate forms for the charges recorded. 

Keep in mind that insurance is a contract between the patient and his or her insurance company and that St. Peter’s Health is acting only as a billing agent. St. Peter’s Health cannot pursue payment from insurance carriers in the event of non-payment or benefit denials. If a patient’s insurance carrier has not submitted payment within 30 days of billing, St. Peter’s Health expects the patient to pay the balance in full. Patients receive a monthly statement showing any account activity and the remaining balance due.

Virtual visits

St. Peter's Health is proud to offer telehealth care through several virtual platforms. If you have an appointment for a virtual visit, you can enter your provider's virtual waiting room on this page. 

Don't have an appointment?

To use telehealth platforms for a virtual visit, you must be an established patient and have a scheduled appointment. To establish care or schedule an appointment, please contact us at 406-457-4180. 

Join virtual waiting room for scheduled appointment

There are several steps you must take before your appointment begins:

Review Teams Instructions

Your virtual visit will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. Teams is a secure, HIPAA compliant, private and encrypted interactive video platform. You must review these Teams setup instructions in advance of your visit. You can use your smartphone or computer for the virtual visit. However, if you are using your smartphone you will need to download the Teams app onto your phone prior to your visit.

Review Terms

  • My voice, images and medical information may be recorded by Microsoft. I consent to all such audio and video recording and understand the same is not owned or stored by St. Peter’s Health.
  • I agree that certain situations are inappropriate for telemedicine services. If I am in crisis or in an emergency, I will immediately call 9-1-1.
  • Telemedicine based services are not as complete as face-to-face care. I understand this may prevent making a diagnosis and require in-person evaluation.
  • I acknowledge there are potential privacy and security risks to telemedicine, such as interruptions, unauthorized access, breach of privacy, technical difficulties, and call termination.
  • The Notice of Privacy Practices and additional information on the risks of telehealth is available here.

 

Please note: You MUST review terms before agreeing and entering the waiting room. After you review and agree to the terms, please enter the waiting room 5-10 minutes before the start of your scheduled appointment.

Agree & Enter Waiting Room Disagree and Cancel

Office Location & Appointments