ASK THE DR

The future of medicine is here, and it’s all about you.

BY DR. FRANK LIPMAN

When it comes to handling life-or-death health situations, the medical system in the U.S. excels and is often miraculous. When accidents happen and bones get broken or severe infections set in, our health care system is well equipped to x the trouble. It’s like having a pit crew standing by, ready to put people back together and get them back on the road.

But, to continue the racing car metaphor for just a moment longer, regular maintenance is where the rubber meets the road—and it’s also where our current medical system doesn’t win the race. Mainstream medicine, or as I like to call it, “Old Medicine,” needs a 21st-century operating system upgrade—with ongoing maintenance a primary component. Think medicine 2.0, or what I’m calling “New Medicine.”

Emergency and acute medical problems tend to grab the headlines, but a far larger number of people nd themselves in a different category—what we in the wellness world call the “walking unwell.” They are a silent majority of people saddled with chronic health concerns that aren’t incapacitating or don’t trip alarms on standard lab tests, but nevertheless interfere with living life to the fullest. Be it a misbehaving belly, aches and pains, a foggy brain, lack of energy or poor sleep, night after night, no one should have to accept feeling crummy much of the time as “normal.”

Old Medicine keeps it simple, and not in a good way: Our “health care” system is set up for disease care rather than health care—either you’re sick or you’re not, with nothing in between.

New Medicine sees the full spectrum of health, from wellness to disease—and the many shades of gray in between. It gets to the bottom of what’s causing unwellness, and identi es the behaviors and lifestyle habits that may be undermining health. From there, New Medicine provides a custom road map to help you improve function and move you along the spectrum from unwellness toward optimal health, no matter what stage of life or health you’re in. It incorporates the principles of functional medicine, best-inclass testing, wearables and state-of-the-art tech tools. The patient experience? Personalized, customized, relational and highly communicative.

New Medicine is the future of medicine, and not a moment too soon. Here are ve thoughts on what it brings to the table, and how it will, in time, change the diseasedriven “sick care” system into a sustainable, wellnessfocused, health partnership:

1 NEW MEDICINE IS TRUE HEALTH CARE AND IS POWERED BY PREVENTION. Old Medicine is reactive. It’s not so much about prevent-

ing diseases as treating them as quickly as possible with pharmaceuticals. Some treatments are more successful than others, but regardless, when we suppress symptoms with drugs, we often end up playing whack-a-mole. One symptom is suppressed, another often pops up elsewhere in the body, which then requires more drugs.

New Medicine is proactive and prevention-focused. It’s about looking at the whole person, long before disease makes itself known, developing protocols designed to promote health.

It’s about identifying potential trouble spots and determining which changes to make now in order to reduce the risk of developing full-blown disease later. When disease does arise, instead of applying one-size- ts-all treatments, New Medicine uses tailor-made tools and lifestyle interventions to treat the underlying disorder or imbalance, and move patients from disease to optimal health.

2 NEW MEDICINE IS DESIGNED TO EMPOWER, EDUCATE— AND ACT AS A TRUE HEALTH PARTNER. In Old Medicine, the focus is on arriving at a diagnosis, followed by a treatment from the standard playbook. Too often, the patient feels left out of the process—possibly bewildered, frightened or intimidated. We can do better, with an approach that has empowerment, education and partnership baked into the process.

With New Medicine, you’ll work with an expert medical team to design a custom wellness plan that enables you to reach your health goals. The team meets you at your level, guides you through the tough spots, educates and inspires every step of the way. The result? An aware patient who is empowered to take charge of their health and support their own healing and vitality.

3 NEW MEDICINE IS DESIGNED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, NOT THE DOCTOR’S. When it comes to the value of time and relationships, New Medicine appreciates that convenience for patients is a priority, not a luxury, especially in our new era of remote work and nontraditional schedules. Just as Net ix changed the way we see movies and Peloton changed the way we view tness, New Medicine will change the way we experience our health care.

Many appointments can easily be done virtually; testing can often be done at your doorstep; data can be downloaded from devices; and ongoing health coach support can be accessed on your time, from wherever you’re based. New Medicine recognizes that the future of medicine has a massive digital component, and takes full advantage of these time-saving, relationship-building, health-supporting tools.

4 NEW MEDICINE USES TECH TO HELP MONITOR, UNDERSTAND AND OPTIMIZE ONE’S HEALTH, WHILE PREDICTING AND PREVENTING ILLNESS. Imagine having all your lab results, the information from your wearables, and your diet and exercise routines on one intelligent platform.

Imagine having access to on-demand experts or health coaches to keep you informed and accountable. Imagine having an app in your pocket that could alert you to the quality of your sleep, the level of your stress, and offer you instant personalized solutions in real time.

Technology can now allow you to invest in your health 365 days a year, not just for 30 minutes during your annual physical.

5 NEW MEDICINE ENABLES YOU TO CONTROL AND OWN YOUR DATA. Your health is your asset, you should control it and it should not be for sale. Ever try to see—and interpret—your medical records? It’s tough to do. Typically, Old Medicine owns your data, keeps it out of your hands and sometimes sells it, which doesn’t make much sense.

Dealing with any kind of unwellness can be challenging, but one thing no one should stress about is their personal information. The New Medicine approach offers you, the patient, easy access to your data, on demand. Better yet, your personal health records are owned by you, in addition to being HIPAA-compliant and provider-agnostic. That translates to patient privacy and peace of mind.

As a physician for over 40 years, it’s been my mission to provide my patients with access to every tool possible to optimize their health. And I believe we now have the tools for a major upgrade in how we can deliver health care. The future of medicine is here. I encourage you to check out www.joinhearty.com, a “next gen” New Medicine platform I am especially excited about. It was created by pediatric heart surgeon, digital health innovator and philanthropist—and Sag Harbor resident—Dr. David Luu, who has also just launched a game-changing New Medicine platform that’s perfect for people looking to prevent disease, age well, perform better and create optimal health. drfranklipman.com