Health, is an inside job.

It's time to rethink our model for "Health".

The current model we follow is an above-down and outside-in approach.  Doctors are in the position of authority, dictating what's healthy and what's not (above-down) and primarily prescribing medications to manage the symptoms of the problem at hand (outside-in). 

Health is currently defined as the absence of a disease, and no care is given until a diagnosis has been determined.  The outcome of this approach has been rising numbers in obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.  While our average lifespan has increased, our quality of life has decreased. 

What if we turned the current system upside down?  What if we defined health as optimal function instead of absence of disease?  Instead of doctors dictating our health we took responsibility for our own health and educated ourselves on the factors that increase true health instead of simply treating symptoms.  Doctors would become "Health Coaches" that in addition to alleviating symptoms, educated you on the things to do to increase health and prevent the problems in the first place.

Our office has a wealth of health information we share daily on our website and via Facebook and Twitter.   Want to know what your health indicators are via blood test?  There are websites you can go to and order your own blood tests and check your results for optimal ranges rather than just the presence of a disease.  Want to know how well your brain is functioning or how susceptible you are to Low Back pain and other musculoskeletal problems?  You can check cerebellum function via a simple android app.  Want to know how your stress levels are affecting your heart health?  There's an app for that too.  If you have questions, our office is always ready to answer questions and point you in the right direction with lots of other patient health resources.  If you do come to our office, you can have access to your health records anytime in "the cloud" via our certified EHR (electronic health record).  Just contact us for details and your password. 

If we paid attention to the 3 health stresses (chemical, physical, emotional) and took steps to control them, we would then be practicing an inside-out approach to health.  This would be cheaper, more effective and increase our quality of life as well as prevent the big 3 of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Get going, and take charge of your health from the inside out.