Why should you become my patient? What value do I offer you that you might not get from your current provider?
It starts with respect:
- A collaborative approach to your care, keeping you in the driver’s seat as much as possible.
- A good listener who won’t make you feel rushed or unimportant.
- I respect my patients and take their concerns seriously.
- I respect your time. I don’t see many patients in my office on any given day (many problems can be handled without you ever needing to come in), so you won’t have to sit in my waiting room very often. When there is a delay (typically because you needed a same-day appointment ASAP), you’ll notice that you can relax with a good book from my library or use your computer with Guest WiFi to get some work done.
Convenience & Accessibility
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- Have a quick medical question? You’ll have easy direct access to me by telephone, email, or video (email is generally preferred for non-urgent situations).
- Many (most?) problems can be handled by e-mail or telephone without any need to come in for an office visit.
- I generally take calls after hours and on weekends (my office number rings through to my cell phone). For legal / liability reasons I don’t promise full 24/7 emergency access, but I certainly strive to deliver it.
- I offer a variety of in-office procedures, reducing the need to refer you to outside specialists for simple problems I can handle immediately.
- Evening and weekend appointment slots available at no extra cost for when it’s just not convenient to get into my office during the regular work week.
- Limited practice size ensures that you won’t be competing with too many other people for my attention.
- Same day or next-day appointments in most cases.
Thoroughness
- I tend to offer much longer, much more thorough visits than my competition – 90 minutes on average. You should feel that your concerns have been heard and know that I will do everything I can to help you understand what I think is going on with you (and why I think that).
- I look for underlying causes of chronic problems and check for “ticking time bombs” in time to defuse them. These include insulin resistance, elevated uric acid levels, chronic inflammation, and obstructive sleep apnea.
- In-depth evaluation of your current medications and supplements, with explanations of how they work and any changes that I might recommend.
- A comprehensive approach to screening and testing for a large variety of conditions — at a fraction of the typical cost.
- Well-woman care including pap smears. Women preferring to receive their gynecologic care from a female associate in another practice may request that ($60-$75 extra).
- Coordination of care and interpretation of lab results, studies, and visit notes from other providers.
Your Personal Research Environment
- This may not be for everybody, but now and then I meet people who are very motivated to learn as much as they can about a medical topic. In addition to providing you with access to my medical library, I can grant you in-office access to my online information resources including UpToDate and ConsumerLab. Of course, you can also just bounce weird ideas off me and see where we go from there.
Diet, Weight, and the Metabolic Syndrome
- If you suffer from diabetes, pre-diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, kidney problems, chronic inflammation, irritable bowel, and/or sleeping problems (to name a few), then in many cases I can help dramatically change your life for the better — both quality-wise and longevity-wise. If you’re open to making some changes in your diet (that won’t involve going hungry), I can often manage a lot of problems without needing to treat you with any expensive or dangerous medications.
- No matter what your situation, I’m not into fat-shaming. Expect to be heard and respected no matter your body type.
Mental Health and Addiction
- Thoughtful counseling and the ability to listen
- If you’re a smoker and want to quit, I can help. Successful quit rates for my patients are a LOT higher than average.
- Alternatives to sleeping pills that won’t leave you hung over or ultimately make your insomnia and anxiety even worse.
- Non-judgmental help for people seeking help with alcohol or substance abuse problems.
- I’m happy to prescribe anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications when necessary, but even happier to suggest alternatives that work as well or better for a lot of people. The choice will be yours.
Chronic Pain
- Appropriate treatment of chronic pain. (No, this doesn’t mean that I prescribe narcotics freely. There are actually much better approaches to treating most chronic pain, particularly for neuropathic pain disorders.)
Money Saving
- Predictable, affordable rates for your primary care needs.
- No additional charges (aside from costs of the materials) for procedures I can do myself.
- Substantial discounts for most lab tests.
- Significant prescription drug discounts for many chronic medications – no insurance necessary.
- Substantial savings on supplements through the Slower Medicine Fullscript web store. Click the button below to sign-in or create a patient account. (NOTE: Active discounts are only available to Slower Medicine members. Once membership has been established, discounts will apply to all purchases from that point on.)
A Long-term Perspective
- Focus on helping you enjoy a long and healthy life, not just on your current problem list.
- Understanding the importance of finding and reducing sources of inflammation.
- Discussion of ways to limit your cancer risks.
- Discussion of the value (and sometimes lack thereof) of a variety of supplements.
- Assistance with genetic testing and interpretation.
