09/01/2026
Sometimes what the patient WANTS isn’t what they NEED.
And sometimes what the clinician wants isn’t the answer either.
That’s where healthcare gets interesting.
At A4M this weekend, I shared a framework we use when thinking about every patient:
⭕ What the patient WANTS
⭕ What the clinician believes SHOULD HAPPEN
⭕ What the patient’s BIOLOGY ACTUALLY NEEDS
Great healthcare happens where those three circles intersect.
Because our job isn’t simply to prescribe something.
It’s to understand the person sitting in front of us and then help them understand what’s actually possible.
I think of health as a trajectory:
FOUNDATION → PERFORMANCE → THRIVING
Most people walk through the door asking us to fix a problem.
Our opportunity as clinicians is much bigger:
Help them see a version of their health they didn’t even know was possible.
That’s when healthcare becomes transformational.