A doctor focused on you

Maurice Beer, MD

Internal Medicine

My work as a Functional Medicine Physician is to be a medical detective . To investigate, identify and  address the underlying causes of my patient’s symptoms and by connecting all the elements of their health history, restore balance in their body systems.

For most of history, medicine ( what I call traditional medicine) has prioritized the relationship between patient and healer while also incorporating the environmental influences that impact patients. Healers relied on their understanding of the individual, their experience, and their intuition.

After working with thousands of patients to resolve their health problems, I have seen how the clinical trial and evidence based medicine has changed the nature of medical practice. Insurance companies, market forces, and the profit motive have interposed themselves in the medical encounter. Both the autonomy and agency of patient and physician have been diminished.

Many patients are dissatisfied with the medical system because of the lack of personal interaction and compassion and feel that their concerns are not being heard.

I believe the patient-doctor relationship in the key contributor to the healing process and the importance of approaching each visit with an open mind, humility, empathy, and no judgment.

Learning from my patients has helped me understand the importance of connection.

Connection with the patient, connecting the science with the humanity, connecting all the elements of a patient’s history, and connecting individual issues with the environment and each individual’s lifestyle choices.

The practice of integrative medicine involves addressing the physical along with the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the patient. This approach, connecting all of the factors affecting one’s health, opens the door to an array of options for restoring balance and healing.

The real excitement of this new phase of my practice is that we are truly on the verge of a new era in medicine and healthcare. This is where technology, systems biology, computing, and artificial intelligence will combine to  create new approaches to health that focus on creating healthier lives, optimizing function and longevity, and reversing dysfunction and illness. Scientists are discussing “longevity escape velocity”- where if you can stay healthy for another 10-15 years, scientific advances will be able to extend life span far beyond what we currently think is possible.