LONGEVITY: HEALTHSPAN AND LIFESPAN

One of the more recent updates to the practice has been a targeted approach to achieving true longevity. Our goal is to keep people active and healthy for as many years as possible. There is an amazing book titled Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia that highlights many of the ways that targeted, preventative care can transform both the lifespan and healthspan of an individual. More on this to come, but now is an exciting time to explore the options available from the membership medical model.
 

CURRENT “REACTIVE” HEALTHCARE MODEL

The current American healthcare system is very disease-oriented and reactive. We don’t get paid to prevent heart disease, but medical specialists get handsomely rewarded for angiography or ‘heart caths’ especially if done on an emergent basis for an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). While they should be compensated as they are, they should also be able to spend time with patients BEFORE these events happen to help prevent them from occurring in the first place.

Another good example of our reactive and not proactive system is not screening for osteoporosis till women are age 65! This should be started at age 50 at a minimum, and even then there can already be bone loss happening throughout the years leading up to menopause. And, we are taught to wait until your LDL cholesterol (sometimes called ‘bad’ cholesterol) is a certain level before initiating statin therapy.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine, is responsible for the recommendations of ‘preventative care’ that will then be covered by insurance or Medicare. Most doctors don’t agree with them, especially for example the recommendation NOT to use PSA to screen for prostate cancer. My father, a retired urologist, has always urged me to check PSA despite these government guidelines. And guess what? I have found numerous aggressive prostate cancers in men younger than 60. Imagine if these men had a doctor following the guidelines and not checked PSA because it wouldn’t be ‘covered’ with insurance? A test that costs my practice $4 has saved patients’ lives.
 

UPCOMING LONGEVITY UPDATES ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

Follow me on Facebook and there will be more posts about the USPSTF government task force and why some recommendations are appropriate, and some are just plain wrong. I will also post about longevity and specific reasons why your PCP (who is ‘covered’ under your insurance plan) can’t give you the time you need to truly take care of you. And it isn’t their fault.

Other topics regarding longevity will include: heart health, brain health and preventing dementia, as well as the beneficial role of medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro on nearly every organ of the body.
 

PREVENTATIVE CARE

Doctors don’t get paid to have preventative conversations with patients (other than the one that Medicare pays for to plan for end of life). However, I start to talk to my patients in their 20’s and 30’s about lifestyle and that what they do now lays a critical foundation for how long and how active their life will be. Doctors get less than an average of 12 minutes per patient visit and this includes the exam and all patient questions and the doctor’s answers.  I used to have to limit my patients to 3 problems and even then I never had enough time. 

Medical decision making is what we as physicians are paid for and that includes taking histories, doing exams, interpreting studies, coming up with the diagnosis and then really hashing out the risks and benefits of a treatment plan. At my practice, the minimum visit is 30 minutes and the initial visit and annual exams are all an hour. When was the last time you had a full hour of a physician’s undivided attention?

If you are interested in discussing longevity and a personalized, preventative healthcare plan, call and book a consultation with me today at (817) 346-4000.