Because of the complexities involved in the market and the critical importance of financial stability, many people hire a financial advisor or wealth manager to help them achieve their short- and long-term fiscal goals. Typically, when you first hire a professional, they conduct a comprehensive assessment of your current income and spending. From there, they help you establish goals for the future and a plan to get there. They advise you along the way, adjusting and changing your plan to fit the context of your life. Ultimately, however, you are doing the work—earning and allocating according to a plan to reach your financial objectives.
Wouldn’t you want the same assessment, guidance, and accountability from the professionals that care for your biggest asset: your health? Much like having a solid financial advisor, having an expert healthcare provider is essential to keeping you accountable and on track to meet your goals. Similarly, making smart investments early pays big dividends down the road.
An Executive Physical, the Basics
The first step in understanding your health comprehensively is to identify key metrics and gather vital information about the current state of your health and the circumstances of your life. An Executive Physical, typically ranging from three to six hours, is a health assessment that provides quantitative and qualitative data about your current state. The best of these include an in-depth discussion with a team of health professionals about this information and what it means for your future. And, the very best help you create customized, actionable plans that promote health for today and for decades to come. Executive Physicals help identify health concerns, trends in your data over time as you age, and the habits and lifestyle factors that play into improving health markers and reducing risk. After baseline assessment, your physician and members of your broader health team can help you visualize a path forward and help you create a plan that is customized for you based on your needs and where you are in your life.
Many companies are looking for better ways to take care of key employees and keep them working at their best. At the same time, more and more individuals are seeking a more in-depth healthcare experience than they might otherwise receive from a traditional primary care provider to not only identify and manage major issues but also develop plans to reduce risks now and avoid problems in the future through lifestyle modifications and behavior changes. Executive Physicals are a great place for corporate executives and individuals alike to start taking a deeper look into their health.
While more advanced options include a personality, habit, and lifestyle review, consultations with dietitians, physical therapists, and other specialists, and customized health plans, a standard Executive Physical includes:
- A comprehensive individual and family medical history review
- An in-depth physical exam
- Advanced laboratory testing
- Advanced screenings
- Diagnostic reports
Who offers Executive Physicals?
Executive Physicals are offered typically by three types of medical service providers – large hospitals, regional health systems, and concierge-style medical practices. While the physicals themselves are usually similar among these options, each has advantages and disadvantages that should be considered before making a choice.
The growing segment of concierge medical practices are a good option for Executive Physicals because they often see less patients in a more intimate, health-promoting setting. Hospital systems that offer these services often have longer wait times and may require considerable travel.
What are the advantages of an Executive Physical for the Individual?
There is a distinct advantage in creating a deep relationship with a physician and a healthcare team. During an Executive Physical, a physician should not only perform a physical exam, but also seek to know you on a deeper level – what stresses do you have in your life? What is your family life like? How are your relationships? How do you sleep? – knowing that your health is comprised of much more than bloodwork results and answers to a few basic lifestyle questions. Because the physician connects with you on a deeper level and can examine trends over time, they are able to determine the actions that are the most effective at changing your health outcomes. In establishing a relationship with a physician and conducting these assessments annually, you allow your care team to be better equipped to predict and prevent disease and to help you reach your goals rather than simply address acute issues and disease states with a standard primary care doctor.
An Executive Physical helps to ensure that you build better health each year and at every stage of your life.
What are the advantages of an Executive Physical for the Corporation?
More and more companies are making the health of their employees a priority as part of their overall business strategies. By valuing and investing in employee health, organizations are better able to keep essential employees healthy and productive and to attract and retain talent through supplemental benefits their competitors may not have. Executive Physical programs offer personalized guidance and action plans on lifestyle behaviors, such as sleep and stress management, which have a major effect on performance and, by extension, expenses when inadequately managed.
Offering Executive Physicals as a benefit not only shows potential and current leaders that the organization cares about the well-being of their employees, but it also reduces the financial and organizational risk that would likely result from a key leader experiencing a significant negative health event.
The Take-Away
Don’t wait until it is too late to invest in your health and your employee’s health—find a team of experts to assess you, guide you, and hold you accountable for your health goals. An Executive Physical is the first step in practicing Medicine 3.0, and by coupling it with concierge-level primary care, you receive year-round, direct and immediate access to a healthcare team. In sum, it’s an important investment that sets you up for long-term success.
To learn more about SHIFT’s Executive Physical program, click here.
To speak with a SHIFT representative about a program that meets your needs, contact us at services@shiftlife.com or 312-566-4209.
In Real Health,
The SHIFT Team