I have long felt that we must revolutionize how we manage chronic disease in America. Every day, I speak with patients who have experienced decades of patchwork care: a prescription here for high blood pressure, another there for cholesterol, another for blood sugar or mental health, then another to treat the side effects caused by some of these medications, often without meaningful guidance on lifestyle or long-term prevention. Our current system is reactive, pill-first, and stacked. It assumes that a handful of drugs can undo years of poor diet, little movement, sleep disruption, and stress that remain ongoing. This approach is not working. Chronic disease is not just present; it is soaring.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 76.4% of American adults, around 194 million people, reported at least one chronic condition. Among those, more than half live with multiple chronic conditions, and younger Americans are increasingly affected. These numbers are not just statistics: they are the parents, partners, coworkers, and friends I meet every day. And they represent lives constrained by illness, escalating medical bills, and avoidable despair.

Why does our system default to prescriptions? Partly because it's easier, and what patients expect. When physicians, often overwhelmed by time pressure and patient volume, can't deliver comprehensive care in 15- or 20-minute appointments, the simplest tool is writing a prescription. There is no time to coach a patient on how to shop for and prepare healthy foods, eat balanced meals, improve their sleep, or find realistic ways to increase activity. There is........

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