Lifestyle Medicine
Lifestyle medicine holds the promise for true health reform as it treats the root-cause of chronic illness and disease rather than its symptoms. There is clear evidence that people with chronic conditions who adhere to a healthy lifestyle experience rapid and significant improvements in their health.
Chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the USA. Rates of chronic disease have never been higher, with cost of chronic conditions eating up 86% of all healthcare dollars spent. Chronic disease is so common that more than half of American adults have at least one condition, accounting for 90% of healthcare spending.
To schedule a lifestyle medicine consult, please call 970.876.5700.
Dr. McGrogan, of Silt Family Practice, works in conjunction with your primary care and referring providers and any recommendations will be made in consultation with them. Changing your lifestyle habits will be the primary way of treating and managing your chronic disease. Our goal is to work with you to create a personalized self-care plan that you will be able to implement and maintain.
Because lifestyle changes are so powerful as medicine, it is not unusual for patients to have a dramatic reduction in their blood pressure and blood glucose levels in as little as 30 days where we will need to reduce and sometimes stop medications.
Dr. McGrogan does not sell products, she teaches skills that can be utilized in daily life so people can manage their own health. Her ultimate goal is to create a community that thrives on lifestyle principles where chronic health conditions are a thing of the past.
Lifestyle Medicine Explained
What is lifestyle medicine?
Lifestyle medicine is an evidence-based practice that helps individuals and families treat, reverse and prevent chronic disease by adopting and maintaining lifestyle behaviors, such as:
- Improving nutrition
- Increasing physical activity
- Adequate sleep
- Stress management
- Avoiding use of risky substances
What problems can lifestyle medicine treat?
Lifestyle improvements can help prevent or manage:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Metabolic syndrome
- Coronary artery disease
- Cancers associated with lifestyle (e.g., prostate, breast and colon)
- And more…
What can I expect at an lifestyle medicine consult?
The initial consult starts as an hour-long appointment where your provider will:
- Obtain a detailed personal, family and medical history
- Learn more about your dietary, exercise and sleep habits
- Assess your health concerns and evaluate your symptoms
- Order any necessary tests required to guide lifestyle treatment
If I like my care, will I still see my regular doctor?
Yes. Lifestyle medicine physicians work as a compliment to your regular primary care doctor (PCP), we do not replace the care your receive from your PCP or your specialists. We work together with all members of your healthcare team. Our expertise lies in preventing and treating chronic disease related to lifestyle. For other chronic diseases and acute medical problems, you will continue to see your PCP.
Are lifestyle medicine visits covered by insurance?
Yes, they are covered by most insurance.