Doctors Laud MDPrevent Approach To Preventive Medicine

Oct. 25, 2011 - PRLog -- Contact: Kimberly Whetsel
Director of Service, Marketing
561-807-2561
Kimberly.Whetsel@MDPrevent.net

DOCTORS LAUD MDPREVENT APPROACH TO PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
Boca Raton Start-Up Delivers Lifestyle Seminars, Medicare-Paid Wellness Care

Boca Raton, Florida (October XX, 2011) – In 16 years of practicing internal medicine, Meyer Cohen, MD, has experienced both reactive and proactive care. Early on, he watched patients of all ages develop poor health habits because their insurance plans provided no incentive for them – or him – to pursue healthy lifestyles.

More recently, though, Meyer has helped patients embrace healthier living and proactive health care. So it’s no surprise that when MDPrevent, a new medical practice offering healthy-living seminars and Medicare-covered Annual Wellness Visits, opened in Delray Beach, he saw its promise.

“The current healthcare system is reactive. By not practicing preventive medicine, as a nation we’ve encouraged lifestyles that spur chronic illness and disease,” said Cohen, with Premier Medical Associates in Boca Raton, Florida. “MDPrevent sounded to me like the right idea for today. It can be an excellent model used in conjunction with my practice.”

The long-term health of all Americans – and Medicare itself – are in jeopardy. The government-backed healthcare plan currently has more than 49 million beneficiaries, with another 11,000 Baby Boomers joining the program daily. Hypertension, heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, diabetes, dementia and cancer account for more than 50% of deaths annually – and amount to more than 50% of Medicare’s yearly costs. Preventive medicine for Americans of all ages could curb both figures.

That’s where MDPrevent started. Created by a pioneering physician, it’s a drug-free Preventive Medicine & Learning Center that focuses exclusively on optimizing health, longevity and well-being through Medicare-paid Annual Wellness Visits reimbursed as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The program works alongside patients’ existing physicians.

“MDPrevent doesn’t replace patients’ primary care providers and specialists. It complements those relationships,” says Steven Charlap, M.D., M.B.A., founder and Chief Service Officer of MDPrevent. “If serious medical issues are discovered during visits, patients are referred back to their primary care or specialist physicians.”

The wellness visit is available to patients of all ages. For those not on Medicare, or those who’ve had a wellness visit, they receive MDPrevent’s two-hour self-paid Baseline Health Assessment Program, which includes an initial two hour consultation with MDPrevent’s Preventioneers who are pioneering a new approach to prevention, including MDs, nurse practitioners, health psychologists, registered dietitians and nutritionists. Rounding out the team are fitness and yoga instructors and educators who lead interactive group courses on health, diet and nutrition, fitness and exercise, stress management, finding engagement, and relationship and social network building. In addition, testing includes a blood pressure measurement, blood tests for cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose for heart disease or diabetes, and calculation of body mass index (BMI).

Three, 25-person classrooms house an instructional kitchen, education and fitness facilities, and state-of-the-art audio/visual technology. These are worthy compliments to Cohen’s own concierge medical practice, he said. Together with other doctors, MDPrevent can help patients pursue healthier lifestyles – and maybe help sustain Medicare in the process.

“We’re each reinforcing the other’s practice of proactive medicine. By providing a continuum of closely coordinated care, we’ll help people improve their quality of life and longevity,” Cohen said. “There’s an awakening in this country that preventive care goals must be met. This is the first phase of changing the way we view disease and healthy living. On a grand scale, this kind of company can make a huge difference.”

MDPrevent opened on the campus of Delray Medical Center on October 20, 2011. For an interview or to schedule a private tour of the facility, please contact Kimberly Whetsel, Director of Service, Marketing, at 561-807-2561 or by email at Kimberly.Whetsel@MDPrevent.net.

About MDPrevent
MDPrevent is a new concept in preventive medicine. The healthcare practice helps America’s aging population reduce healthcare costs, stay healthy, and enjoy a life well lived through free Annual Wellness Visits (paid 100% by Medicare) or self-paid Baseline Health Assessments, and the development of a five- to 10-year prevention plan. Its MDs, nurse practitioners, health psychologists, registered dietitians and nutritionists, fitness and yoga instructors and educators also provide interactive group courses on health, diet and nutrition, fitness and exercise, stress management, relationship and social network building, and other key elements of a healthy life. The goal: to improve aging and well-being by identifying, preventing, delaying or mitigating the development of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and some forms of cancer. Learn more at www.MDPrevent.net.

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