Regular checkups are important for overall health and wellness. This can help screen for possible health problems, and support early treatment to catch a condition before it worsens.
“It used to be that a lot of people think that they need to get a check-up only when they feel that something is wrong,” says Dr. Christian Flores, The Medical City Wellness & Aesthetic Institute (WAI) Director. “This also covers the spectrum of those who are hesitant to consult a health professional and wait until it is too late and the condition may have already become severe.”
While this may be the case, Dr. Flores says that there are more people who are doing more proactive checkups. Especially today when lifestyle diseases such as cancer or diabetes are starting to affect younger people. If there are health conditions that are present, there are interventions that are readily available at the institution, including monitoring and treatment from dedicated and highly-skilled medical practitioners who are at the top of their field. This can help clients make a healthy lifestyle change to avert further complications.
“Whatever stage of health status you are, whether you’re really at optimal health or if you have risk factors, you can be given guidance and recommendations early on,” Flores adds.
WAI offers services that comfortably help patients take charge of their health. “The most common are the screening programs across the age spectrum — pediatrics, adolescence, young adult to geriatrics. It’s a spectrum of services offered as different packages that are really designed to address certain conditions that are prevalent on a particular age group,” Flores explains.
The Basic Package is designed for both male and female from the ages of 19 to 39. This includes screening of a client’s metabolic condition, to check how the body handles blood sugar, protein, and cholesterol, along with x-rays for the lungs and heart.
For males who are mid-adults in their 40s and above, there are screening packages that include evaluation of their prostate or the urinary tract. For mid-adult women, certain tests are included such as breast exams, ultrasounds, and pap smears. That’s on top of the basic package, which is already very comprehensive.
In older clients, the screening program includes frailty assessment and cognition assessment in addition to blood tests to check sugar, protein, and cholesterol levels.
For children, especially those who are active in sports, there are wellness check-up packages to help them with fitness readiness, and with the prevalence of mental health challenges at that impressionable age, WAI also has counseling to address their psychological health. Those who want to bloom in time for their grand debut can avail of the Makeover Package that includes dental, dermatologist, and nutritionist consultation along with routine testing.
WAI has a digital database, so clients already have a clinical summary that they can present to their physician. That includes the comprehensive medical history, height and weight, physical exam and lab findings, and a list of recommendations from the doctor that saw the patient. These are updated on an electronic medical record (EMR) every time they come in for a checkup. According to Dr. Flores, this allows them to track their progress and results. “Medical profiling helps us find ways to further optimize their health through diagnostic tests and the result of their lifestyle modification. That’s what we use to design packages when a patient wants to customize their package later on.”
More than wellness, The Medical City also offer aesthetics intervention and lifestyle management
Aesthetics is another area where clients can prioritize their wellness. “It’s been recognized that how you look really plays a part in the overall holistic care of the self. Wellness also includes what’s inside, and the confidence that comes from how you look outside. We do provide a set of services to accommodate that. WAI really provides services for enhancing internal functioning and how you look — all in one facility. We believe that aesthetics complete the holistic health of a person.”
Lifestyle Medicine, the institute’s new program which was launched last year, is a medical intervention program designed to address risk factors found during a screening program like the executive check-up. “One of our strengths is that we are well-connected with the doctors and subspecialists of The Medical City. We also have a Lifestyle Intervention Program that normally would be recommended after the initial assessment or the Preventive Health Check-up for those with borderline findings on health conditions such as diabetes or high cholesterol, to help them manage the medical condition. As we advocate a holistic approach to wellness, we have a wide variety of support programs and supplemental procedures, like acupuncture and ventosa cupping, massage therapy, and life coaching for stress management,” Dr. Flores explains.
WAI aspires to be the guiding light when it comes to transforming wellness and how one lives their lives. Housed in one institute, all of the programs encompassing from preventive, lifestyle medicine, and aesthetic intervention are tailor-made to fit the health needs and unique characteristic of each and every patients. No matter what stage a person is in their journey, WAI’s programs can adjust to fit the needs of each client.