Shifting Focus – Health Care vs Sick Care

In the realm of wellness, there’s a profound distinction between health care and sick care. Health care is proactive, centred around fostering wellbeing and preventing illness. Sick care is reactive, addressing sickness and disease after they’ve manifested.

As someone whose family has experienced open heart surgery, appendix removals, many births, gall bladder removals, dementia, and on, it goes without saying that Western Medicine is extraordinary and often seemingly miraculous.  The medical services we are privileged to enjoy in Melbourne, backed by Medicare, are world class. I’m forever grateful to our primary and allied health professionals for their extraordinary skills and dedication.

That said, and many members of Melbourne’s medical system agree, we have yet to get the balance right between health care and sick care. For a fascinating read about lifestyle, DNA and longevity, go here

Optimal health isn’t merely the absence of disease. It’s the presence of vitality and resilience. It involves cultivating habits that support the body’s natural healing mechanisms, bolstering immunity against illness, extending our healthspan (years of good health) and our longevity (years of life).

Health care is holistic, encompassing physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. It prioritizes preventive measures such as regular exercise, balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, and stress management, under the rubric of LifeStyle Medicine. Which is why we say at Be Well, ‘your lifestyle is your medicine’.  

Sick care is necessary after our health has already been compromised, with its familiar routines of diagnoses and treatment. While essential in managing acute conditions and providing critical care, sick care often falls short in addressing underlying factors contributing to illness.

In that context, I’m thrilled to invite you to join Dr Nguyen, BMedSci (Hons), MBBS (Hons), FRACGP, MHP, GCHPE, GAICD in our next Be Well Conversation, on Thursday 14 March. Dr Nguyen was both the Victorian and National GP of the Year in 2021.

Among his many appointments, Dr Nguyen is the current President of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine. Medical and cultural education is his number one passion as it allows him to make a greater impact on people’s lives through teaching and learning.He has worked extensively as a GP and Medical and Cultural Educator in urban, rural and remote Aboriginal community health service throughout the Northern Territory and Victoria.

I hope you will join me for a fascinating conversation with Dr Nguyen, and a deep dive into health care and Lifestyle Medicine with a world-class expert. Booking details are below.

See you again at Be Well soon!