Which is more important for you to get in 2024, a wealth manager or a health manager?

Let’s face it: annual physicals and screenings fall far short from giving peace of mind that your health is well-managed.

These general tests are a blunt tool for basic public health. More enlightenment in your personal health requires self-awareness of your individual health circumstances. Your family history, genetic risk, life stressors, bad habits, motivations. It’s a journey unique to you.

Luckily, there is more access to information in patient’s hands than ever before. Today we can all research, read forums with patients like us, and order testing and treatments independently without doctors as gatekeepers.

Some of my physician colleagues bemoan this, but it doesn’t change the reality: the future of health care is going to be more patient-driven. Instead of complaining, physicians need to get more involved.

With the rise of patients buying their own health services there’s been an explosion of snake oil, misinformation, irresponsible practices, and harm to people whose only intention was to take good care of themselves. Doctors can make this situation better: it’s time to bring back personal, trusting relationships with doctors who know patients as people.

Think of the concept of a small town family doc, but refreshed: instead of house calls equipped with a little doctor’s bag, the modern doctor is available from anywhere, and has a “bag” of vetted tools, services, and teams to recommend you.

The most valuable thing the future small town doctor does isn’t know how to solve every problem: it’s knowing which problems have medical territory worth exploring and where the best experts and services are which can solve the problem.

It’s been more than a hundred years that medicine has been too complex for any single doctor to master it all. We’re not going back to one small town doctor (or AI) that can do it all. But that doesn’t mean we have to be floating around from medical service to service totally alone without guidance. Doctors can (and should!) help patients navigate.

Don’t rely on companies making money off selling you supplements to get unbiased advice on your health care. Find an expert you trust to talk through the tests, services, and options you’re considering. If you choose well, it’s time and money well spent.

That’s our philosophy at Carte Clinics. We embrace the increasing power patients will have in the future. We believe our most important future role as physicians will be as expert guides for patients in the driver’s seat navigating a complex landscape. If you need a team you can trust to help you make your health decisions in 2024, reach out.