If he or she found no evidence of major illness, the doctor gave you a clean bill of health and sent you back into the world until next year or until you got sick, whichever came first.

Has modern medicine changed all that? Not really. Today a run-of-the-mill physician has a large variety of high tech diagnostic and treatment options available, but the basic viewpoint remains the same. If you are not showing signs of a fairly advanced problem, there is nothing in the medicine bag to help you. Therefore, as far as he or she is concerned, you are "healthy."

That viewpoint encourages a certain mode of operation from the patient. The "sensible" thing to do is to delay a doctor visit until you are aware of some major pain or discomfort, since that is what the doctor is waiting for. With this "modern" medical viewpoint, the physician is unlikely to detect an illness or imbalance that the patient isn't in some way already aware of.

As you may have come to realize, I am a different kind of doctor. I detect and can correct many imbalances in your body before they become illnesses or pains, or even discomforts. Minute changes in your blood chemistry, for example, can signify a deficiency in your diet. A muscle weakness can tell me that one of your organs is working at reduced capacity. I have many ways of detecting these things.

I also have many simple, non-invasive (as opposed to surgery and drugs) and inexpensive ways to turn these situations around and restore correct body function. I can correct potentially serious situations that you may not be aware of at all.

But there is one problem here. Most people, including many of my own patients, have come to expect much less of their doctors. Most people are not tuned in to minute changes in their bodies and don't expect a doctor to be so, either. Well, I am a different kind of doctor and that requires you to be a different kind of patient. If you want your body operating at its most optimum level, if you want to ward off illness and disease at their earliest and most easily and economically handled levels, then this what YOU need to do:

1. Regular (at least annual) exam and basic blood tests. My exams are thorough and precise. Add the data from a battery of blood tests and the chances of anything being missed grow even more remote.

2. Take your supplements. Minimally, the multi-vitamin Core Level Health Reserve should be a daily staple of just about everyone. Additionally, each patient has his or her own individualized supplement program to correct any situations we have detected. This program will require updating as conditions change and improve.

3. Follow-up treatments. It's not just the vitamins! I actually correct things during your treatments, and create improvement. (Don't tell "modern medicine" this can be done.)

4. Persist on your program until the health goal has been achieved. By working together with me, your health goals are achievable. Don't fall back into the viewpoint that nothing can be done, or that it isn't important. Your health is important and has a significant impact on your ability to produce in life. Don't wait until you have some major problem. The remedies available to you at that point may be severely limited. They may also be quite expensive and not much fun.

5. Stay in communication with me. I do regular follow-up calls and/or letters to find out how well (or not well) you are doing. If you aren't available and we have to leave a message, it's important that you return the call and give me a detailed update on how you are doing. I understand that this is not normally done by most doctor's offices, however this is an important part of our working relationship. Without this information, it makes it very hard for me to know what is working or not working to help you improve your health.

It is up to you to take advantage of all the resources that are now available to you. I am a new kind of doctor. Are you a new kind of patient?

Dr. Susan Player