“I have spent many years looking after very unhealthy and unhappy people.
It was frustrating to work in a public health care system that was – due to time and resource constraints – actually more of a disease-care system, waiting until people got really sick before action was taken. Even then, it was prescribing a pill or recommending surgery or a course of treatment, rather than addressing the root cause of their disease, which was invariably their lifestyle.
I used to feel like I was putting band aids
on bullet wounds.
This was the inspiration for building a better system - one that doesn't focus on a disease symptom or a single organ, but on the whole person and the root cause of health issues.
We call it Medicine 3.0 - a new generation of healthcare combining medical advances, habit science, and monitoring technology to tailor personal health programs that prevent major health issues like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, while reducing the risk of mental disorders like depression and dementia.
At Autonomy, we focus on extending the human health-span — the years you can live in good health, free of dependency and disease.
Most people know the basics of good health: eat better, exercise more, sleep longer, stress less. Our GPs will be able to give you really good generalised advice on how to keep your body healthy but most people don't see their GP until they have a problem. It’s hard to cover practical steps to achieving this in a 10–15-minute appointment. And it’s even harder to change your health habits to implement this advice.
At Autonomy, we want to see healthcare transition from passive “sickcare” to active “healthcare”.
We’re doing this by bringing together a team of dedicated doctors, health coaches, and nurses, all committed to delivering a human-led, premium healthcare service for those that want more, who want to feel seen, heard and have their health concerns validated.
The key to making it all work are our health habit coaches. They bring the magic. We know doctors are good at telling you why to make changes, it’s our health coaches that bring the ‘how’, so you can effectively make change.
I’d like to think that a perfect healthcare model focuses on functional medicine – looking at the root causes of your health concerns and taking into account all the factors that contribute to your health and wellbeing, not just focusing on the symptoms of today’s aches and pains.
Autonomy is our hope for the future of proactive personalised healthcare in New Zealand.