Barry Breaux, MD

Primary Care Internist & Obesity Specialist | Focused on metabolic health, longevity, and having better conversations | Harvard AB, Columbia MD, MBA |

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

@KhurramLiaqat4 @RepGregMurphy https://t.co/gjG9NypvVm

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

It’s actually higher (63% in US). Here’s the 2023 report, page 11: “Globally, 58% of students (54% medical students, 62% nursing students) see their current studies as a stepping-stone towards a broader career in healthcare that will not involve directly treating patients.”
https://t.co/K9BEkT364K

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

@JosephMack1970 @RepGregMurphy https://t.co/gjG9NypvVm

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

It’s actually higher (63% in US). Here’s the 2023 report, page 11: “Globally, 58% of students (54% medical students, 62% nursing students) see their current studies as a stepping-stone towards a broader career in healthcare that will not involve directly treating patients.”
https://t.co/K9BEkT364K

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

@AhmadRehanKhan @RepGregMurphy https://t.co/gjG9NypvVm

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

It’s actually higher (63% in US). Here’s the 2023 report, page 11: “Globally, 58% of students (54% medical students, 62% nursing students) see their current studies as a stepping-stone towards a broader career in healthcare that will not involve directly treating patients.”
https://t.co/K9BEkT364K

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

It’s actually higher (63% in US). Here’s the 2023 report, page 11: “Globally, 58% of students (54% medical students, 62% nursing students) see their current studies as a stepping-stone towards a broader career in healthcare that will not involve directly treating patients.”
https://t.co/K9BEkT364K

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

It’s actually higher (63% in US). Here’s the 2023 report, page 11: “Globally, 58% of students (54% medical students, 62% nursing students) see their current studies as a stepping-stone towards a broader career in healthcare
that will not involve directly treating patients.”
https://t.co/K9BEkT364K

[꩜ @doriandargan]

introducing @doji_com - a fun new way to shop for fashion online

you can create a personalized AI likeness, easily try on real products, and shop your favorite looks

rt/comment for early access to our private beta 👇🏾

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

Changing your mind is not a weakness.
Check out my latest article: Strong Opinions, Weakly Held https://t.co/Ny7WGzoHVu via @LinkedIn

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

Exercise is unnatural.
It’s also your best tool against aging.

It’s normal to want to skip exercise – evolution wired us to save energy for famines we no longer see. But in today’s world, inactivity is the real threat to falling off quick, or just falling.

Get this:
-3 out of 4 of us don’t meet basic activity guidelines.
-1 in 4 doesn’t exercise at all.
-exercise is the only free drug proven to extend healthspan and fight chronic disease.

Forget the fitness debates. The best workout is the one you’ll actually do.

This is my most common prescription.

Short on time? Take walking calls.
No gym? Your body weighs plenty—do 10 squats.
Joint pain? Try low-impact.
Love music? Dance like no one’s watching.
Getting old doesn’t have to suck (as much). Start where you are. Move today because your future self is counting on it.

What’s your go-to movement or favorite tips? Share below to help me be a better PCP and version of myself.

Complete article here:
https://t.co/ZMwgGGA7xM

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

There are 2 reasons to go to the doctor:

1️⃣ feel better

2️⃣ live longer

That’s what I was taught in training.

The first reason implies you’re sick.
The second ignores quality of life.

That’s what conventional Medicine offers: reactive care when unwell, diagnosis and age-appropriate screening for the population.

But what if there’s more?

Imagine a 3rd reason to go to the doctor—one that shifts the focus to thriving, not just treading water:

3️⃣ Be 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 for longer

That is, feel good and delay the functional decline, pushing out your chronic illness years as long as possible.

But how? Based on what evidence?

Here’s the reality:
• Healthcare only accounts for 10-20% of our overall health.
• Social Determinants + Health Behaviors = vast majority.
• Typical care, however, rarely results in lasting behavior change.

So how can the doctor help you stay well?
It depends.

The journey starts with your health goals and deciding how far you're willing to go to optimize your daily habits. From there, it’s about finding a doctor who’s not only knowledgeable but also invested in meeting you where you are—someone who can provide personalized recommendations that go beyond standard guidelines and adapt to what truly matters to you.

This kind of partnership requires someone with curiosity, humility, and competence, someone who can navigate evolving science while working within a time and resource-constrained system. (I can hear the concierge and direct care voices shouting back…)

I want to hear from you (seriously):

>What are your health goals?

>What do you wish you had known—or started doing—sooner?

>How can your health team support your well-being?

Let’s start the conversation.

As the saying goes, “there’s more to life than not being dead.”

And I say, there’s more to health than not being sick.

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

“So, all you do is talk?”
This was the reply a young man gave me after I described the kind of doctor I am.

We had just finished a round of golf so I wasn’t ready for such a blunt reduction of my skill set. I’m a physician, a board-certified internist who loves practicing the art and science of his craft. But after hearing it put this way while enjoying a post-round beverage, I chose to confidently smile and reply, “yeah, haha, I guess that’s all I do.”

This was a missed opportunity.

Not only did my profession and ego deserve a better response, but so did he. I should have been more curious to explore a teachable moment, perhaps both ways. I could have offered him a few questions to consider for his health journey, assuming access to care is feasible and wanted:
❓Do you have a PCP?
❓Do you know your family medical history (if available)?
❓Do you know your average blood pressure at home?
❓What are your long term health goals, what’s your plan and how’s it going?

➡️1 in 4 Americans do not have a primary care provider (PCP).
➡️Access is only getting worse, even with insurance.
➡️Plus, the experience itself can feel lousy: long waits, rushed visits, slow or no follow-up. Some face even bigger challenges in accessing quality care.

But that’s no reason to give up, even if you’re healthy and “feel fine.”
Engaging in routine care is about at least 2 things:
1⃣Relationships
2⃣Silent Killers

Eventually, you will need a system of care despite all of its friction and frustration. You want this to be a “usual source of care,” a familiar place and provider before the chronic pain and changes from your normal baseline set in. After all, every evaluation must start with a story:

“Barry was well until…”

Waiting until you no longer feel fine, presenting brand new with a host of concerns can create a lot of noise drowning out the signal of what’s actually causing your current dis-ease. Urgent Care and the ER will triage and stabilize, ruling in or out anything of immediate concern.

Everything else, however, must wait for the outpatient follow-up. In my office, we’ll take all your concerns, but we still prioritize. Quality care takes time. Rushing is risky. AI can help, but until it fully replaces me (no time soon): help me, help you.

Get a PCP. It’s open enrollment, and I know it’s hard to find one, but try. Know your history as best you can, and maintain a relationship with your care team and system of care, even if it’s just the routine annual physical.

“I feel fine” are ominous words while conditions that can progress without noticeable symptoms (bluntly called ‘silent killers’) can fester towards an eventual stroke, heart attack, cancer, kidney or liver failure. Feeling well is what I want for you while still being proactive and vigilant. The truth is, we’re all at some risk, at every age, even if we do everything right. And once complications happen, we’re playing defense to prevent the next one, managing a new normal.

Take your health seriously starting at home regardless of your health status. When you come see me, I’ll be more than happy to channel my inner Tevin Campbell if all we do is talk.

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

Amid this current AI hype cycle it’s worth pausing to refocus on what truly matters in healthcare—especially in primary care. As the saying goes, "In the rush to find what’s next, let’s not lose sight of what’s timeless."

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

@CardiologyCoder do you know if a commercial plan does not cover it, will the patient get stuck with the extra charge?

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

@BevTchangMD @AniaJastreboff That is the same thing. The goal is absolutely to decrease excess visceral adiposity (ie “weight”) by overcoming the theoretical ‘set point’ or otherwise. The goal is risk reduction via weight/adiposity loss.

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

@ohbother2023 @hjluks @quote27 I respect your opinion, and I agree. Once lifestyle changes have been exhausted and have failed it is unethical not to offer safe and effective meds. It is our collective duty as a society to address root causes, the majority of which are social determinants.

[Siyab Panhwar, MD @DrSiyabMD]

Got a lot of grief for suggesting that we shld be aggressive in screening for and lowering cholesterol in young people in their 20s-30s.

Let me use a patient story to tell you why I believe that.

Long 🧵. Please read the whole thing before commenting.

[Beverly G. Tchang, MD @BevTchangMD]

PSA!

🚨❤️🩺
Achieving a normal BMI is NOT the goal of #obesity care
Achieving a normal BMI is NOT the goal of #obesity care
Achieving a normal BMI is NOT the goal of #obesity care
🚨❤️🩺

[Barry Breaux, MD @Barry_Breaux]

@chrissyfarr An example or some context here would be very helpful. Otherwise the interpretations/responses here are full of confirmation bias. We already deal with a lack of trust, especially from underserved populations.

[Dr Paddy Barrett @Paddy_Barrett]

"My blood pressure is normal. My doctor measures it when I see them every year."

One data point.
Once a year.

In reality, we have no idea what your blood pressure is.

Buy a blood pressure cuff.
Get familiar using it.
Get lots of data.

Then we might have some idea.