On a Better Model for Medicine
With each passing year of experience as a physician, I become increasingly aware of the complexity and individual variability of health issues. As a leader in a large medical system, I’ve seen movement toward care models that, by necessity, prioritize efficiency and standardization over individualized depth, giving doctors precious little time to understand the full scope of patients’ concerns and individual context.
Physician appointments have been shortened and are increasingly filled with the mechanics of billing and documentation. I have seen patients check themselves into urgent care immediately following a primary care appointment that was too short for them to enumerate—much less create a plan to manage—their various concerns. Physicians are pressed to move through packed schedules, manage patient calls and emails, and coordinate with specialists. Is it any wonder that physicians are quick to reach for a prescription, order “shotgun” diagnostics, or refer to specialists? Is it any wonder that confidence in physicians is declining?
Additionally, our medical system is designed to care for illness, pain, and chronic diseases, with relatively little focus on averting or reversing them. Too often, I hear from patients seeking clarity and direction on how to optimize their health and longevity, describing unsatisfying interactions with physicians who are working within systems that prioritize billing structures and general guidelines that often can’t address these more advanced questions.
The doctor–patient relationship is evolving, and our current system is ill-equipped to accommodate this change. There was a time when patients came to physicians for information and direction. Today, many come for a “second opinion.” Medical knowledge is no longer the sole purview of physicians; it is, for the most part, widely available to anyone seeking it. My patients have read various sources, listened to podcasts, and watched videos on topics important to them. Today’s AI tools can synthesize and summarize what was previously dense or obscure information. As a result, patients often have a very good sense of what may be going on. The role of a good physician today is not simply to provide information, but to partner with patients to help sort out the context, scale, applicability, and relative importance of the information available to us all.
Optimizing a patient’s health requires a holistic understanding of the individual—their goals, risk factors, lifestyle, and stressors. Plans must also take into account the past successes and challenges each person has faced. A 44-year-old who ran cross-country in college, currently exercises twice a week, and has a VO₂ max of 40 will require a very different plan than a 44-year-old who has never exercised more than twice a week but has an identical VO₂ max.
The tools available to us today offer an unprecedented amount of information. Genetic markers, advanced laboratory testing, and precision functional testing and imaging provide useful insights into how our bodies function and what individual physiological patterns and risks we carry. When used thoughtfully, this level of testing allows us to move beyond generalized recommendations and toward truly individualized strategies. The value is not simply in collecting more data, but in integrating it with clinical judgment and lived context to create a clear, prioritized, and actionable plan. These insights can then guide decisions as simple as the timing and amount of caffeine intake, the use of specific supplements, and the design of exercise plans—and can be as consequential as identifying risk for certain cancers. Novel medications and hormonal therapies offer significant promise, but all require an individualized approach.
At Rise Precision Medicine, we offer a model built around a different set of priorities. We begin by taking the time to listen and understand your concerns and goals. From there, we use a panel of actionable genetic and advanced laboratory tests, along with functional assessments of your sleep, conditioning, metabolic health, and body composition, to identify and prioritize the steps you can take—and to build systems of accountability and track results over time.
My goal is to help you achieve natural resilience, strength, vitality, and longevity.
If you are motivated to take ownership of your health and want to optimize your healthspan, I would welcome the opportunity to work with you. You can schedule a free consult with me using this direct booking link.
