The concept of concierge medicine is mainstream. And while many have heard the term, not many truly understand the benefits of this type of medical care. Essentially – in most cases, you pay for an annual membership agreement with a physician or physician group, and they provide access and services that are outside of what is billed to your insurance company. When it comes to taking insurance, some practices do, and some do not.
For many, this concept seems a bit foreign, as they aren’t accustomed to viewing health care in the same way that they would view other services they might use on a regular basis, for instance, a lawyer, a personal trainer, or someone who might remodel your home. But imagine if you tried to use your homeowner’s insurance to remodel your kitchen. It wouldn’t work – unless the kitchen had caught on fire! Because most people have health insurance, they believe that provides reimbursement for everything that they need.
Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.
The sad reality is that, even with health insurance, the cost of healthcare to most Americans is skyrocketing and their health outcomes aren’t getting any better. In fact, life expectancy is starting to slowly decline for the average American.
Our health delivery system is broken. Healthcare providers are stretched too thin and are therefore leaving the workforce in record numbers. Patients are not satisfied with a system that feels impossible to navigate. We’re getting less and less out of it even though we’re paying more and more for it. If we wait until we are sick, these costs are even dramatically higher.
For these reasons, I created Tulio Health. I know there’s a better way and we are already seeing results.
Let’s face it, the current health delivery system is based upon “sick care”. We spend the most time and resources on people when they are sick. Very little is put into taking care of people when they are healthy. What we really should be doing is dedicating our time to understanding our patients more, understanding their uniqueness, their goals, and their challenges. But the truth is, it simply comes down to reimbursement. The sick care model does not reimburse health systems and clinicians for spending this time with you. It tries to hold off if it can, and then pay only for what it must when you get sick.
And like many clinicians today, I found it increasingly difficult to provide the quality of care that I believe in within the limits of this system. For people to stay healthy, they cannot just do it when they are in the office. A once-a-year check only scratches the surface. We need to have the time and resources to do it right. There is a reason that so many doctors are going to this model, and it’s because we know that we can keep people healthy and provide “health care” instead of “sick care” if we can simply create an experience around a patient to optimize their health.
When a client joins our practice, we use those resources to perform advanced cardiovascular, metabolic, and hormonal screenings that most practices cannot do or don’t have the resources/experience to do. How often have you heard from your doctor, “eat better and exercise more”. But do they have the time to tell you what that really means? In a partnership approach with our clients, we use our testing to determine your individual needs in a way that specifically relates to your body. This puts our clients ahead of the curve in understanding the risk factors for developing things like heart disease and cancer and optimizing their metabolic, nutritional, and functional status in a way that is individualized. This means their blood pressure is lower, so their risk of stroke is lower. This means we ensure we have a plan that works to maintain healthy body weight and reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease. This means that even though one in three Americans will get a cancer diagnosis at some point, we are going to have the best chance to find it early and make sure you get the best treatment as soon as possible.
When you invest your trust and resources with us, you are doing so knowing the return will be long walks on the beach with your spouse, more family memories with your children and grandchildren, and the best chance to wake up every day feeling alive and engaged with the world you have worked so hard to achieve.
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This article is not meant to be construed as medical advice but rather printed for informational purposes only. Everyone’s health situation is different. As always, it is critical to discuss the use of any supplements with a licensed healthcare provider to ensure that any use is safe and potentially effective in your medical status and condition.