The key to good health is not primarily to treat existing symptoms, but to prevent them. Preventative medicine is therefore an important approach to ensure a happy, healthy and longer life.
Why Prevention?
Prevention is better than cure and comes in different formats. First, you can prevent illness by addressing risk factors and picking up early signs of ill health. You can protect your health through blood tests, vaccinations, optimal
Second, you can prevent complications once health conditions and issues set in. Managing, your weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, bone density alcohol intake and lung or heart function are examples that can reduce complications such as heart attacks, strokes and cancer.
And third, you can prevent unnecessary specialist or hospital interventions by appropriate medication review, chronic disease planning and regular GP follow up. Adopting a prevention mindset will support you towards more wellness and less sickness over time.
How Prevention benefits you?
Age well and live longer
Preventative care can increase your lifespan and ensure you enjoy independence in your senior years, unburdened by avoidable hospital procedures, healthcare appointments, and limitations on your lifestyle such as chronic pain, medications and low energy.
Better quality of Life
Reducing risks of chronic health conditions, and maximising daily lifestyle habits, affords you a high quality of life. You can feel more relaxed, have more energy, be happier, get more sleep, be more active and productive, and live life to the fullest if you have good health.
Save Money
People don’t want to spend money on healthcare until they feel like it’s completely necessary. But the problem with that is you’ll be spending a whole lot more on fixing a problem than preventing it in the first place. Hospital procedures are thousands of dollars whereas eating well, being active, getting good rest and having regular check-ups are relatively inexpensive endeavours.
Preventative care means more healthcare now, but saving more expensive healthcare later on. How much do you spend on gym memberships, organic food or yoga, and are you spending enough time and money on medical prevention to ward off unnecessary disease in the future?
Do you have a preventative lifestyle?
Consider some of these questions on preventative lifestyle behaviours:
Do you exercise till you sweat every day?
Do you sleep 7 quality hours a day and feel well rested in the morning?
Do you drink 8 glasses of water per day consistently?
Do you sing, draw or play an instrument?
Do you fast or skip meals?
Do you take vitamin D supplements?
Do you practise gratitude?
Do you eat more than a handful of different plants every day?
Most importantly, a preventative approach is not a single action but rather combination of efforts towards proactive, healthy lifestyle behaviours combined with medical support to ensure no diseases or gaps in healthcare are missed.
5 ways Osana support you with Prevention.
1. Assessment
Your annual health assessment includes relevant screening tests for your age and risk factors. Did you know many people have pre-diabetes or diabetes but don’t know about it? Picking up diabetes early and managing it well can literally save years of someone’s life.
2. Health Plan
We develop a personalised health plan to address your health risks identified in the annual assessment. Osana health plans include goal setting, evidence-based guidelines and input from dietitians, exercise physios, psychologists and your specialist GP.
3. Slow Medicine
We allow extra time in our standard GP appointments ensure you to address all your health concerns with your doctor. Our mantra is to see our members when they are well, not just wait until they get sick – this means forward appointments based on your risk category to facilitate regular reviews and check-ups.
4. Promote Lifestyle Change
We offer classes, workshops and resources on nutrition, exercise and wellbeing to empower you to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviours. You are supported by a Health Assistant and Health Coach to achieve health goals in the future.
5. Measurement
Along your health journey, we track your results, survey scores and assessments to ensure you’re improving in overall health and well being; if not, we dive in with the entire team to support you and ensure you’re confident, capable and knowledgeable in achieving the best health outcome possible.
Find out more about the benefits from Osana Membership.