Wellness Clinics

A Wellness clinic or a Wellness center is either a dedicated department of a hospital or a standalone clinic that is built primarily for the purpose of promoting wellness among healthy individuals. Wellness centers cater to individuals who are not sick but who are determined to keep themselves healthy. The practitioners who operate these Wellness Centers include General practitioners, Family Physicians, Internists, Radiologists, Dermatologists, Plastic Surgeons, nutritionists, physical therapists, and potentially alternative medicine specialists lsuch as acupuncturists, ayurvedic doctors, and massage therapists.

The services offered by Wellness centers are varied but mostly involve the following:

• Weight management and nutrition - Wellness centers have clinical nutrition specialists that can assess an individual and create individualize diet plans to keep the patients in optimal weight. Nutritionist guide patients not only on the quantity of the food they eat but also on the quality.
• Lifestyle and Fitness programs - Wellness centers also have lifestyle and fitness coaches that can provide assessment training for individuals. Most Wellness centers are equipped with gyms and exercise equipment where individuals can train and build their strength, flexibility, and endurance. Lifestyle coaches can also help individuals form healthy habits and avoid risky health behaviors such as smoking or alcohol.
• Stress management - Stress management classes are available in Wellness centers. In these classes, several techniques for stress management are being taught including breathing exercises, meditation, visualization, humor, etc. Acupuncture and massage services are also available in most wellness centers.
• Screening programs - Gender- and age-specific screening programs are the most basic services of most Wellness centers. These screening programs are the recommended screening tests or diagnostic procedures that an individual should get based on his or her age. These screening tests are usually bundled together and are performed on individuals on a single setting or during a single admission. For example, many individuals prefer to go to Wellness centers once to year to have their yearly checkup along with all the necessary diagnostic tests like complete blood count, blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, chest X-ray, ECG, urinalysis, colonoscopy, mammography, and so forth. Some patients prefer to be admitted for a day to finish all the diagnostic procedures in one setting. Others prefer to have the tests done on an outpatient setting. These screening tests are important because they allow for early detection, and hence better management, of some diseases such as cancer.