Atrium Health’s physical for busy professionals

Atrium Health’s Executive Health Program is tailored to busy, health-conscious professionals.

If you want healthcare that goes beyond the standard annual physical, you typically have to make time for multiple doctor visits and wait weeks for results.

The solution: A one-day, roughly seven-hour comprehensive physical exam that includes everything from heart scans to a one-on-one session with a nutritionist.

We spoke with Dr. Kelly Redden, Medical Director of Atrium Health Perspective Health & Wellness Executive Health, to learn the ins and outs of the program.

How is the Executive Health Program different from traditional primary care?

An Executive Health physical exam is much more comprehensive than a standard physical.

• We perform many diagnostics and health assessments beyond a basic exam, including retinal imaging, hearing, breathing, heart function and body composition.

Plus: We provide extended interaction with an Executive Health board-certified physician to conduct the exam, review your results and develop a health plan based on your wellness goals.

What kinds of tests are done?

The full-day visit includes:

• Diagnostic testing: This includes vital signs, retinal imaging, breathing tests, hearing tests, an EKG, and medication management. We also do body composition through InBody testing, which tells you your fat-to-muscle-to-water ratios.
• Nutritionist consultation: A one-on-one consultation with a nutritionist who provides recommendations and designs nutrition plans based on your test results and lifestyle.
• Exercise physiologist consultation: A one-on-one consultation with an exercise physiologist to create a custom exercise plan.
• Heart exam: A comprehensive workup ranging from a stress test to a CT scan to determine your cardiovascular health.
• Lunch break. Patients are served lunch mid-day in a private space to take a break.
• Time with the doctor: Patients spend around 90 minutes with the doctor reviewing their lab results and full health picture. Everything is up for discussion, from family history to your current situation, medications, supplements, exercise, sleep and stress — it all impacts your total health.

Annual Executive Health physical exams are structured for your particular needs.

Here’s how: In addition to all the standard testing of a physical exam, we identify a specific area for concentrated focus during each annual exam.

The typical cadence of exam focus is outlined below, but each patient can identify their preferred area of focus for each annual exam.

• The initial Executive Health physical is all about the heart. We’ll complete a CT scan of the heart to look for blockages, a head-to-toe vascular screening and a stress test.
• The second-year exam focuses on the brain. You will have a brain MRI and a cognitive test that was created for our patients by the brain experts at Wake Forest. You’ll also get an hour-long stress management consultation with an executive coach to talk about stress management, work-life balance and well-being.
• The third-year exam focuses on musculoskeletal health and function. This includes cardiopulmonary exercise testing that helps develop custom training programs to increase your overall fitness and help prevent physical limitations.

How much does an Executive Health physical cost?

It’s $2,800, and you can use your FSA or HSA.

Does the Executive Health physical take insurance?

The one-day executive physical is a cash-based service.

• The imaging, consults, labs, doctor time, stress test and all of those things are included in the $2,800. There are no additional outside fees.

We offer year-round primary care through our Executive Concierge program.

• This membership-based program takes your executive healthcare to the next level. We offer exclusive benefits such as 24/7 access to your care team, flexible appointments, personalized health plan and wellness goals, and more. There is a $3,000 cash membership fee, with all visits and services provided covered by most insurance plans.

Who is the Executive Health Program ideal for?

Designed for professionals, executives and entrepreneurs who want to maximize and maintain their health, the Executive Health program is designed to fit unique needs and busy schedules.

While we provide services to individuals, we also partner with corporations, which offer these once-a-year executive physicals to their leadership and upper management teams.

• We have just over 20 corporate partners currently.

Learn more about Atrium Health Perspective Health & Wellness Executive Health and make an appointment at the SouthPark or Kenilworth facilities.

Produced in partnership with Atrium Health.