Healthcare Built for You: Standard GP vs. Lifestyle Medicine
At ATUNE, our GPs bring different approaches to healthcare. Some have a strong focus on lifestyle medicine, others take a more traditional approach, while may practice in integrative approach. This means we can tailor your care to your individual needs and, where appropriate, draw on different approaches to better address your health concerns.
This matters because everyone is an individual. What one person needs from their healthcare may be very different from the next. The major difference between a lifestyle medicine consultation and a standard GP consultation is the focus of the appointment, rather than the type of doctor you see.
Standard GP Appointment
A standard GP appointment is generally focused on a specific health concern, medical issue or ongoing condition, such as:
- A new symptom or illness
- Medication or prescription concerns
- Reviewing test results
- Managing ongoing conditions such as asthma, diabetes or high blood pressure
- Referrals to specialists
- General health concerns
Lifestyle Medicine Appointment
A lifestyle medicine appointment places greater emphasis on preventing illness, improving overall health and addressing the lifestyle factors that influence your wellbeing.
Your consultation may explore:
- Nutrition and eating habits
- Exercise and physical activity
- Sleep
- Stress and mental wellbeing
- Weight management
- Alcohol, smoking and other lifestyle factors
- Cardiovascular and metabolic health
- Building sustainable habits and supporting behaviour change
These appointments can be more in-depth and goal-oriented, particularly if you are looking to make longer-term changes to your health. Depending on your needs, your GP may also review blood tests, blood pressure, weight, waist circumference and other cardiovascular or metabolic risk factors.
A simple way to think about it:
Standard GP: “I have a health problem—what is happening and how do we treat it?”
Lifestyle medicine: “How can I improve my health, address the factors contributing to my health, and reduce my future health risks?”
Of course, there is significant overlap between the two. A standard GP can discuss nutrition, exercise, sleep and other lifestyle factors, while a lifestyle medicine consultation can still include conventional medical assessment, diagnosis and treatment when required.
The ATUNE difference
One of the benefits of ATUNE is that your care doesn't have to sit within a single consultation or approach. Our GPs and broader healthcare team can work together, where appropriate, to ensure your care is coordinated, personalised and suited to your needs.
Whether you need help managing a specific medical concern, want to improve your health, or are looking to prevent future health problems, we can bring together the right people and approach to support the best possible outcome for you.
Because good healthcare isn't one-size-fits-all, it should be tailored to you.