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Execs get a day
with the doc
by
Paula C. Squires
Virginia
Business
July 2003
It
begins at 8 in the morning with a discussion of one’s
family medical history and ends at 4:30 p.m. with a
therapeutic massage. In between, executives are put
through the paces: high-technology body scans, blood
work, a stress and lifestyle assessment, fitness and
nutritional analysis and a session with a psychologist.
Sounds
as grueling as a day at the office. Yet, the executive
physicals offered by Partner MD in Richmond are designed
to save busy executives time. They don’t wait to
see the doctor. In fact, they even get to lunch with
him or her. And thanks to electron beam tomography —
the most precise diagnostic technology today for early
detection of coronary disease and lung and colon cancer
— executives can undergo a battery of tests at
one location.
Richmond
is one of a few cities in the country with a multi-million
dollar InteCardia LifeCare Imaging machine which does
the EBT scanning. Being able to partner with InteCardia
at its location in Henrico County — Partner MD
is located in the same building and on the same floor
— is one of the reasons the company decided to
offer an executive physical. “We looked around
the area and no one else was offering this,” says
Partner MD President Linda Nash. “We want to market
it throughout the state.”
Two
weeks after the exam, executives are invited back for
a follow up consultation to review test results. “When
you can sit down and go over page by page every one
of your tests with the doctor and cardiologist and,
if there’s something wrong, come up with a game
plan of corrective action, I found that to be worthwhile
and enlightening,” says Don Niemeyer, senior vice
president and CFO of Interbake Foods who had the exam.
In fact, the 59-year-old says the physical may have
saved his life by revealing a buildup of plaque in his
arteries. He’s changed his diet and exercise regimens
and is taking medication. “The good news is that
I know about it ahead of time before, God forbid, I
have a heart attack.”
The
exam and personal attention doesn’t come cheap,
Average fees run from $3,000 to $3,500. Some companies
pick up the fees as part of executive benefit packages.
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