The quest for longevity has long been a recurring topic on the minds of health enthusiasts, aging adults, and wellness seekers alike. But there’s a catch; living longer may be a worthy ambition but there’s no guarantee those extra years will be as enjoyable as the preceding years. 

Enter the concept of healthspan—and how Joyn Health is creating a new healthcare model to help make it a reality.

What is Healthspan vs. Lifespan?

You’re likely familiar with the term lifespan: in essence, the number of years a person lives. But this measure of longevity doesn’t speak to the quality of the years. Healthspan, on the other hand, refers to the number of years spent in good health—free from chronic diseases and disabilities, and exempt from a decline in physical and mental function. The goal of healthspan is to maximize the time we are able to spend living vibrant, active, and fulfilling lives.

Why Healthspan Matters

As successful people in our professional and personal domains, we’re all trying to live long healthy, productive, enjoyable lives. But, if our final 20 years are consumed with attending to health ailments, saddled by limited mobility, and inconvenienced with frequent hospitalizations, that’s not success. Success minimizes the gap between lifespan and healthspan, aiming for golden years that are as enriching as the years that preceded them. In other words, lifespan without healthspan is simply unacceptable.

How Joyn Health Aims to Extend Your Healthspan 

At Joyn Health, we are setting a standard of care far above the norm. With a focus on healthspan-extending wellness, we believe in a multi-faceted approach to healthcare that  nurtures overall well-being through personalized care, preventative measures, and a meaningful relationship with your physician.

Personalized and Preventive Care:

Each Joyn patient is on a unique health journey. Part of what sets us apart is getting to the core of who our patients are, learning what they aspire towards in life, and understanding how we can make the greatest impact on their healthspan. When patients sign up for membership at one of our Joyn Health clinics, the clinical team conducts comprehensive health assessments that consider physical, mental, and lifestyle factors. This approach not only allows the clinical team to get to know each patient on a more intimate level, it enables early detection of potential health issues and the creation of personalized health plans. We recognize that health is ever-evolving so we ensure health maintenance visits are readily available to catch and address new issues as soon as possible. 

We believe an abundance of undivided time and attention are essential for an optimal physician-patient relationship. Joyn physicians care for approximately 1/10th the number of patients compared to typical primary care practices, allowing them to focus extensively on preventive care, including regular screenings, vaccinations, and lifestyle counseling. Assigning well-matched, dedicated physicians to each patient ensures a continuous and optimal relationship for coordinated and comprehensive care.

Enhanced Chronic Disease Management:

One of Joyn’s distinctive focus areas is reinventing the typical approach to chronic disease management. Chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease require regular monitoring and adjustments to treatment plans. Suboptimal management of chronic diseases can wreak havoc on healthspan. With concierge medicine, the time and attention are allocated to mitigate what may go unchecked to help improve disease management and outcomes.

Redefining the Patient-Physician Relationship:

In today’s healthcare system, the physician-patient relationship has been demoted to the bottom of the food chain. To set a new course in healthcare, we’ve redefined what the physician-patient relationship looks like, ensuring that our approach is such a significant improvement on the standard that it barely resembles the current norm.  We facilitate 24/7 patient access to physicians via phone, email, or text, offer same day or next-day appointments, eviscerate the time patients wait to receive care, and offer our smaller patient panels longer appointment times. All of these differentiating factors help to build stronger trust and communication between patients and physicians—a key element of extending healthspan. 

Access to Advanced Diagnostics and Treatments:

As a concierge clinic, Joyn puts the latest medical technologies and advanced diagnostic tools to work for our patients. Using these technologies, we can detect diseases and health issues more quickly and accurately yielding more effective treatments. We also have the ability to incorporate genetic testing and personalized medicine approaches, customizing prevention and treatment strategies to an individual’s genetic makeup. This enhances the effectiveness of interventions and promotes an extended healthspan.

Whole-Person Approach to Health:

At Joyn, we understand concierge medicine requires a holistic approach to healthcare which is intended to increase our patients’ healthspan. That’s why our concierge physicians spend significant time collaborating with patients on lifestyle changes like diet, exercise, and stress management, and integrate mental health services as well. This approach provides comprehensive care that addresses both physical and mental health needs and promotes long-term health and wellness. For patients with complex health needs, Joyn provides thorough care coordination, ensuring that all aspects of their health are managed with thoughtful care.