Issue #38: Hire (yes hire) the Right Doctor
Good morning. It’s Thursday, October 6th. Ok - it's been 8 weeks already since we launched Thrive25 back in August - that's almost 40 issues!
“Hormonal problems are the top reason I find for accelerated aging.”
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The potential physician shortage by 2034 for both primary and specialty care in the U.S. The AAMC estimated a shortage range of 17.8-48K in primary care and 21-77.1K in specialty care.
Hire the Right Doctor
Companies spend millions of hours and dollars on recruiting and hiring.
Why don't we spend the same time hiring our doctor?
You know what's crazy - when I did a google search for "how to find the right doctor for you", here are some of the questions you get from Blue Cross Blue Shield or WebMD:
Is the doctor in-network?
Is there enough parking at the doctor's office?
How long to wait for the appointment?
Is the office staff friendly and courteous?
Look all of those things are important, but are they really how you should select your primary doctor??
What about instead asking questions like:
How can you help me achieve my personal health goals?
How can you help me use diet & lifestyle to optimize my health?
When will you prescribe antibiotics or prescription drugs?
What blood tests should I get and how often?
To me, what's most important is that your doctor understands your health goals, how you want to be treated, and is willing to work with you to make sure you achieve these goals.
So Many Choices
When it comes to selecting a doctor, you often have to start with the insurance network. This can be both:
Limiting - is this doctor in-network?; and
Overwhelming - how do I go through so many potential docs in my area?
Here are some helpful tips (beyond talking to friends/family for referrals) on the right doctor for you:
MD vs DO
A doctor of medicine (MD) is the most common doctor in the U.S. (89%). A doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) goes through the same training as an MD, but also completes an additional 200 hours on the musculoskeletal system to treat things like back pain, stiff joints, etc.
I can't promise that this is true across the board, but a DO is thought to be more "holistic" and "patient-focused".
Direct Primary Care & Concierge Medicine
An alternative payment model where you get access to a primary care doctor through a flat membership fee. The objective here is to create a better patient-doctor relationship with more access and accountability.
One Medical* is an example of concierge medicine, where you pay an additional $199/year for a higher level of service. Otherwise, all billing goes through insurance like any other doctor's office.
Functional Medicine
There are an increasing number of doctors that are now certified as practitioners of Functional Medicine, which changes the focus from addressing a symptom to actually figuring out how/why illness occurs. The goal of functional medicine is optimal health by addressing the root causes of any disease for a specific individual. The Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) has a directory of these doctors:
Unfortunately over 50% of these practices don't accept insurance and this can become very costly so make sure to check this out.
Pro Tip: 1) Hire your doctor based on your health goals; and 2) Fire your doctor if it isn't working out - don't be afraid to find the right Advisor (Issue #35) for you!
*Thrive25 has no affiliation or recommendation for One Medical. Note: In June, One Medical (ONEM) agreed to be acquired by Amazon (AMZN). The acquisition is currently working through customary closing procedures, including regulatory approval
Thrive25 Partner Spotlight
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Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
Parachuting In: Intermountain Healthcare has partnered with Zipline to deliver specialty pharmaceuticals and OTC products via fixed-wing drones to customers near IHC HQ in South Jordan, UT. There’s been a lot of hype and broken promises related to drone deliveries for years - we’ll see if this iteration is successful.
Pleasure from Pain 2.0: From the NYTimes, 97% of us agree physical activity is important for health, but only 3.2% execute. Too many of us go straight to Zone 3, 4 or 5 workout (more “painful” exercises) when starting and burn out quickly. Instead, the idea is to spend 80% of active exercise time in Zone 2 (Issue #31) and 20% in Zone 5 (Issue #32). This is much more enjoyable - giving you a fighting chance to stick with it.
Mouse Trap: A study published last week in Science, analyzed over 3,000 mice and found that different genes between males and females impacted longevity. This could have massive implications for how men and women eventually optimize their longevity! But good nutrition also was found to be significant (no surprise there).
Thursday Night In
Just made this dinner - the salad is great, but the dressing is really what made it awesome. Big fan and super easy.
Pro Tip: We made a couple pounds of shredded chicken to use for multiple meals - no worries if you make the chicken ahead of time. Can serve cold or warm it up to go on top of the salad.
Answer to Yesterday's (Issue #37) Logic Puzzle
Question
Four friends, Scott, Oscar, Nadine, and Darius, were each born in a different one of the months September, October, November, and December.
"This is annoying," said Oscar one day. "None of us have an initial that matches the initial of our birth month."
"I don't mind at all," replied the friend who was born in September.
"That's easy for you to say," said Nadine. "It would at least be cool if the initial of my birth month was a vowel, but no."
In which month was each friend born?
Answer
Scott = October | Oscar = November | Nadine = December | Darius = September
Nadine's birth month cannot be November. Since it doesn't start with a vowel, it cannot be October. Since she was talking to the friend who was born in September, it cannot be September
The friend born in September cannot be Scott. Since this person was talking to both Oscar and Nadine, it cannot be either of them. Therefore, it is Darius
This leaves the Scott and Oscar and the months October and November. Oscar cannot be born in October
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We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25 Labs LLC does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.