And knowing which advice to follow to have the best health outcome.
There are 4 levels of health advice and really the only thing that matters is which one you’re following because it directly affects your quality of life and your disease burden in the future.
Level 4 Advice – Most Common
This would be what people read online. Let’s call it social media. Juicing, cleanses, supplements, and home remedies for cellulitis. If you’re worked in the ER or Urgent Care then you’ll see a lot of unfortunate cases of bad outcomes from taking the wrong advice and not getting timely care.
Level 3 Advice – Public Health Messages
These are great pieces of information but they are meant to address population health, not individual health. It’s usually something like: “Be sure to take or use or get tested for …” It encourages one intervention or prevention over another. It likely will be good advice for at least 50% of folks but not everyone.
Level 2 Advice – Clinical Protocols
This is the white papers published by the American Urologic Society, American Heart Association, ACOG, and many other clinical expert panels. They are far more detailed and individualized than public health advice, but they have a strong industry bias towards testing, treatment, and interventions. Otherwise, they have a much better individual applicability.
Level 1 Advice – Individualized Clinical Assessment
Nobody knows you better than your doctor or healthcare provider – after yourself, of course. We as doctors can’t be our own doctors because the bias is too strong and we often misdiagnose ourselves.
Individualized clinical advice only comes from me getting to know my patient really well and if and when they have a major health situation, I can step in and offer the kind of individualized advice that may even go against all lower-tier advice.
How Do You Make Your health decisions? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. How do you view advice from the different sources I mentioned?
Want Personalized Guidance You Can Trust?
If you’re tired of conflicting advice online and want clarity on what actually applies to you, I can help.
In coaching, we’ll take your goals, symptoms, history, and labs into account and build an individualized plan so you’re not guessing or bouncing between trends.
- Clarify your goals and biggest health priorities
- Review your history, risks, and current routine
- Translate public and clinical advice into a plan that fits your life
- Get feedback so you stay consistent and adjust when needed
Book Monthly Coaching With Dr. Ashori
Prefer to start small? Book one session and we’ll map your next 30 days with clear, individualized next steps.
