Dr. Paul Thaxton on Wellness

Health Care is really a misnomer. Today’s Health Care is all about “Sick Care.” Our entire health care system, including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and even physicians, is incentivized to treat disease, not to prevent it. Please don’t misunderstand; medical science has made enormous progress in treating cancer, heart disease and multiple chronic diseases that benefit all of us. I just feel prevention of disease is far better than intervention. Today, fully 80-90 percent of our health care dollars is spent on treating chronic disease that could be averted. If we are to survive as a nation economically, we must teach more people how to prevent chronic disease.

I have chosen to practice a new model of medicine that incorporates the best diagnostic tools and technologies from conventional medicine, as well as emerging tests and tools that help us identify the critical imbalances that are at the root of all illness. I practice patient-centered, not disease-centered, medicine.

I believe modern medical care is a partnership between the physician and the patient. I also believe educated patients make healthier choices when provided with timely, accurate and relevant information. For that reason, I have chosen to focus my practice on wellness.

Despite 40 years of experience, I continue to research and study the latest scientific findings and incorporate them into my medical practice, to the benefit of my patients. The utlimate goal is a longer and healthier life for every patient I see.

The World Health Organization in 1948 broadly defined wellness as "not merely the absence of disease and infirmity" but an overall sense of well-being

According to the National Wellness Institute, “Wellness is an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful existence.”

This definition describes a shift from unconscious living – where you do not think about your health until you have a problem or experience symptoms – to conscious living – where you are actively making healthy choices to promote your success and wellbeing.

"Wellness is first and foremost a choice to assume responsibility for the quality of your life. It begins with a conscious decision to shape a healthy lifestyle. Wellness is a mind set, a predisposition to adopt a series of key principals in varied life areas that lead to high levels of well-being and life satisfaction ... Wellness is an alternative to dependency on doctors and drugs, to complacency, to mediocrity and to self-pity, boredom and slothfulness," says Don Ardell, PhD, Living Well Center, University of Buffalo.

Our integrated care approach to medicine includes gynecological services for women and weight loss management services and hormone therapy for men and women. We focus on a results driven approach. We have also added state-of-the-art technology of Zerona Laser Liposuction. As a true patient-centered medical practice, it is our mission and our privilege to provide a multitude of wellness services under one roof.

Medical research has come a long way, and as a result, people live much longer than they used to. While no one can argue that expanding the average person’s lifespan is good, many folks are not enjoying the quality of life that we would hope as they get older. Many of the elderly have chronic conditions that overwhelm their daily activities or they get diseases repeatedly, which ultimately raises health insurance premiums. Learning about and practicing preventive healthcare, i.e maintaining your body and good health throughout your entire lifetime, is properly the best method to prevent disease from happening in the first place.