What’s up, doc? Who would you rather be?

I think doctors have a very tough job; they are overwhelmed with patients and are trying their best to keep up with demand.

Imagine though if they could choose how to run their practice — determine pricing, services, amount of clients, etc.

After reading the following, sit back and think. Who would you choose as your doctor or which doctor would you rather be, A or B?

Doctor A

The same doctor you’re used to seeing has well over 2,000 patients, and is very reactive. You come in when you are sick and they prescribe a drug that may or may not work. You ask a few questions about the drug and they say it’s great and has better past performance with patients than XYZ drug.

Fair enough, you fill the prescription, gobble up the pills and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the side effects are horrendous, you’re nauseous, can’t sleep, are nervous, anxious and you just want to change pills, even though if you keep taking them for the long-term the side effects will probably go away and their performance will be the same as XYZ’s.

You change doctors and get a new prescription for different pills, this time XYZ which everyone is raving about…but eventually you get side effects again and decide to maybe switch doctors again because the only way you can rate your doctor is based on the performance of the prescription he/she recommended.

Not really fair to the doctor as they are simply trying to cure what ails you, but could there be a better way?

Doctor B

She is a very proactive doctor. She rarely has last minute appointments, and she deals with fewer patients, only about 200 families or 600 patients maximum. She charges $1,500 to produce your wellness plan and charges $1,200/year per patient for her professional services, and she does not receive any compensation from any other sources including the government.

Before taking you on as a patient, this doctor sits with you and asks lots of questions about your lifestyle, nutrition, family history, current health, fitness, etc. She asks for your complete file from all your previous doctors, including dentists and ER visits, etc. She then sends you out to do several blood and a few physical and mental tests. It’s quite a commitment on your part and her’s and has taken the better of 2 hours of her time so far.

She advises you that when she has all the results back, she will then put together a plan that will provide a snapshot of where your health is now and a thorough list of steps to ensure you stay in shape as best you can. The cost of the wellness plan is $1,500.

When you meet the next time, the doctor presents the plan to you. Apparently you are 15 pounds overweight, need to update several booster shots, you need your tetanus shot and you are borderline diabetic.

Wow, better lay off the cheesecake for a while!

She has produced a leather bound plan with details and timelines to ensure you get back in shape. She has a list of several steps you need to take to implement your wellness plan. The doctor then tells you she will meet with you semi-annually to review your progress towards your goals, including your nutrition and physical activity.

At these reviews, she will open the plan and see if you are on track with certain targets; if not she will make recommended adjustments to put you back on track. She works with a team of specialists. She refers you to a naturopath to provide some natural solutions to keep your cholesterol down and a nutritionist to get you off the Skittles and on to something a little healthier.

She then gives you her card with her email address on it and says to call or email if you have any questions about anything health related including questions on vitamin supplements or fitness equipment. She also sends you a monthly health e-newsletter with healthy tips and articles of interest. She is proactive in calling when vaccines come out to advise whether or not she recommends they are a good idea or not. She also calls you every 90 days just to ask about you and your family and your health.

This doctor can show all her prospective clients that her typical client lives 5 years longer and has fewer colds and fewer cases of cancer than the general population.

Can you imagine if this kind of doctor existed? I can tell you I would be the first in line. I would more than happily pay $100/month to have my health be someone’s top priority and have a plan to achieve key goals. It would certainly be money well spent as I would probably live a longer and happier life.

I keep mentioning to advisors I speak to across the country that I strongly believe that we as an industry need to focus on providing full financial planning to our clients and easy to understand and monitor goals that we can track at reviews.

If we want to be unique and offer value, we need to change. The investments business, much like medical advice and diagnosis, has become an Internet commodity. We need to put things in perspective and rekindle the desire to make planning and not just prescribing a core part of our industry and practice.

We are lucky in our industry; you can choose to be Doctor B if you want.

Best of luck with your practice.

Robert Abboud, CFP, PFP, is the co-founder of AdvisorPractice.com, which offers advisors practical solutions to help transition to a financial planning practice and offers a 12 week training program. He is also the author of ‘No Regrets, A Common Sense Guide to Achieving and Affording Your Life Goals’. He has been offering life goals financial plans for over 15 years through his firm Wealth Strategies. Robert is available to speak at conferences and educational days. You can contact him at rob@wealthstrategies.com.