I serve patients who are unfulfilled or discouraged with the care they are receiving in the conventional medical system and who are interested in getting to the underlying root cause of their health issues, interested in natural and alternative solutions to their underlying medical problems. They just don’t want a short term “band-aid” solution to their symptoms, but an opportunity to heal and feel more invigorate.
My ultimate goal for my patients is to help them get back on a lifelong path of optimal health. To that end, my approach stands apart from conventional medicine in the following ways:
Whole-individual approach to optimal health and aging
I believe health is much more than merely the absence of disease. It’s the state of optimal vitality that allows you to live life to its fullest. Unfortunately, today’s health care system would be better describe as a crisis management system. Prevention and optimal health are cost and life-saving but of miniscule importance to a system relying on expensive and harmful pharmaceutical and invasive procedures. I take into consideration all factors that have an impact on health, so you die old as young as possible.
Individualized and patient centered care
I practice medicine today recognizing that each individual has a unique biochemical, genetic, lifestyle, and environment which play a significant role in the development and progression of complex diseases and chronic conditions. Taking all the factors into account produces the blue print allowing me to treat each patient’s unique condition in a highly individualized approach.
Root cause analysis
At the core of Functional Medicine is a drive to understand “why is there a problem” rather than “what is the problem”. Chronic illness is not something that one “catches” but rather it is primarily an outcome of imbalances or dysfunction in key underlying systems in your physiology as well as your psychology. In my work with patients, I focus on identifying these root causes of disease, with the objective of eliminating not only the symptoms, but also the underlying problem. Instead of prescribing a quick fix to a patient’s symptoms, I seek to to treat the whole system – mind and body – in order to bring health back into balance.
Natural, non-invasive treatment
Most of my patients do not need another pill, they need a prescription for health. In chronic conditions of health and aging, medications only help relieve the symptoms, while the disease state continues to progress. Though I occasionally use medication, I primarily focus on natural modalities in combination with testing. All are key components of your overall health and work in concert with each other to bring your mind and body back into balance.
Cutting edge diagnostics & interpretations
I use the latest diagnostic testing to look for deficiencies and imbalances and when reviewing lab tests seek optimal ranges, rather than “normal” values. I also take advantage of the latest advances in medicine to personalize a treatment plan for each patient. That said, just because its cutting-edge, does not mean I use it. I fall on the conservative end of anti-aging Medicine and believe strongly in using proven, evidence-based treatments and diagnostic testing.
Mutual Collaborative Partnership
I spend many hours with each patient listening to their complaints and examining all factors that could be affecting their health, and then I work with them to design a highly individualized treatment plan that takes into account their needs, goals and preferences. As doctor, I am not “better” or smarter than my patients and I never place myself on a pedestal above them. I believe that their intuition is trustworthy and that the most effective and satisfying doctor-patient relationship is a collaborative partnership.