Scottsdale native and former Special Forces physician Dr. Jesse Greer is no stranger to the harmful effects a military career can have on a soldier's body.
During his service as a Green Beret and battalion surgeon in Afghanistan, Greer observed the premature strain service members often suffer, regardless of whether they were in combat situations.
"There were many guys in the military, especially ones in their 30s and 40s, who had all the same starting issues with chronic diseases, whether it's high blood pressure, cholesterol, hormone imbalances, or inflation," said Greer.
Later in his career, he transitioned into an emergency room setting, where he noticed a similar pattern among his patients.
Individuals repeatedly showed up at the hospital presenting advanced stages of diseases that, Greer explained, could have been treatable if physicians had detected illness indicators earlier in life.
"Patients [I saw] had accumulated a lot of preventable illnesses and were more advanced in their disease stages,” he said. “They suffered next-level complications, and by the time they came to see us, they were pretty sick.”
Greer wanted to be a part of the solution to this cycle.
In the summer of 2023, Greer opened a "healthspan clinic" in Old Town Scottsdale to make preventative medicine more accessible.
The clinic provides preventative care, focusing on discovering health abnormalities before dire symptoms ensue.
Patients receive health assessments such as "InBody" scans, blood panels, and MRIs, all from one clinic.
Upon first opening, Greer offered patients an "intensive" three-month pilot program, including exercise tracking, glucose level monitoring, and nutrition logging.
He said patient after patient reported gaining an upgraded quality of life.
"During his initial consultation, a 73-year-old patient asked for 10 more good years with his grandkids. During the program, he put on 5 pounds of muscle and dropped 3% of body fat," said Greer.
"All of our skeletal muscle and metabolic health declines at a pretty steady rate over every decade, so putting him at the top of that curve was one of the best things we could have done for him," said Greer.
Greer knew he was on the right track, and the pilot's full-scale subscription service, Preamble, eventually launched.
Preamble builds on the features of the pilot program, allowing patients to choose from one of two preventative healthcare routes.
The Auto-Pilot Optimization program offers patients an evaluation of 100+ biomarkers, a health intelligence report covering metabolic health, preventable death risk, and hormones, and retesting of key markers after six months of treatment.
"The Auto-pilot Optimization program is our introductory level offering. Individuals who do not need any medications but want to augment their regular primary care love it," said Greer.
Patients who opt for the Co-Pilot Concierge Program can expect all of the same benefits of the Auto-Pilot program, plus more medically led support.
These advanced services include monthly body competition remeasurements, quarterly check-ins with medical staff, M.D. visits with Greer, and prescription services.
"With this program, they can access our more intensive Preamble Lifestyle program, where we track integrated wearable technology. They also have access to our nutritionists and exercise staff," said Greer.
Membership for the Auto-Pilot program starts at $2,500 annually for founding members, whereas the Co-Pilot program is $6,500 annually.
The clinic derives the membership cost using the associated costs of the "standard group of metabolic tests and imaging we do on patients," said Greer.
Patients can also pair the basic Auto-Pilot program with other clinic services, depending on the extent and character of their needs.
The clinic does not accept private medical insurance but does accept Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts.
"There's no way, even with private medical insurance if you're going through your regular doctor, to get a lot of this stuff because it's not covered," said Greer.
"There is a way to augment our services with traditional insurance to be able to cover a good portion of some of the costs that we incur, and I look forward to when we can do that," added Greer.
When comparing the clinic to a general practitioner, Greer said the benefits of preventative care are apparent.
"With the standard practice of medicine, it is nearly impossible to deliver this level of insight for the standard patient. There's not a holistic and comprehensive view," said Greer.
"The regular family or primary care doctor has to see so many people in a day. They have five to eight-minute time slots with each of their patients. Doctors are basically doing quick checks to see if you have a disease," said Greer.
With Preamble, he said, "sick care" no longer has to be the norm.
Information: 480-690-1404 or jessegreermd.com.