Managing health and wellness is an increasingly important role for family offices
Health is wealth, and it’s also a burgeoning industry of specialist services to family offices.
Just as a family office is expected to plan and manage financial risk, it needs to have sufficient means to do the same from a health perspective. As the transfer to the next-generation of wealth owners gathers momentum, developing a strategy to reduce risk and improve general health and wellness across all generations is something that an effective family office cannot overlook.
An active interest in managing well-being is naturally not isolated to the ultra wealthy, with the wellness industry said to be north of $4.5 trillion at this point and set to rise significantly further. The WHO estimates that the global population over the age of 60 will double by 2050 (really not a long time away), meaning the need for specialist care will have to match that growth.
In what will become an increasingly busy space, family offices face a number of important considerations to ensure ample preparation for medical emergencies, but also to manage ongoing healthcare. This may require a dedicated medical executive within the family office team but more frequently relies on several outside service providers.
Designing health solutions could look quite different depending on wether the family office services a single family or multiple families. In the case of an office serving multiple families, health services could be a strong differentiator in a field where a lot of services have been commoditized.
Whatever the solution chosen, in recent family office discussions it’s become a common talking point, often sparked by a health-related incident or the heightened awareness brought by the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Needs assessment
A good place to start is understanding what the unique medical needs of the family are and equally important what specific wellness goals need to be set. This might sound simple enough, but across ages and with diverse needs for preventative care, specialized treatments and even mental health support, this can quickly become complicated. Seeking input from multiple medical experts to facilitate second opinions before making important health-related decisions is advisable, but also challenging, which is where service providers like Better Health Advisors assist. Helping family offices develop personalized plans, advising on insurance and guiding on access to specialists, their offering is designed to meet both general family and individual needs.
Concierge medicine
With family members often in different countries and traveling frequently, there’s need for more than just a doctor-on-call at home. Concierge medicine services have formed to ensure access to a network of specialists no matter where their clients finds themselves, enabling expedited appointments, personalized attention and 24/7 access when necessary.
Originally set up to service 5-star hotels on the west coast, Private Medical has evolved and grown significantly to become a full-service concierge medicine provider that ensures ultra-high net-worth individuals receive this best possible care at any time, anywhere.
Remote care
Sometimes having a global footprint means a preferred specialist isn’t at hand, but with remote medical consultations more common since the pandemic, this is less of a concern. While the pandemic highlighted a lack of preparedness it also helped accelerate telemedicine and remote care, an efficient option for many in the family office space to take advantage of. The other side of remote care is having care available where you’re at and several innovative companies are bringing solutions to market. One example is PassportCard, an insurance debit card that enables payments for medical services like doctor visits, purchasing prescribed medications, laboratory tests, imaging, and emergency room visits aboard without having to worry about out-of-pocket expenses or long reimbursement processes.
Holistic wellness
Preventative strategies are considered essential, but a more comprehensive approach that encompasses physical, mental and emotional health and includes lifestyle considerations like nutrition and fitness should be considered equally so. This invariably means a tailored wellness program for each family member that should evolve regularly. An example of a company taking an integrative approach is Qineticare. Through the founder’s own journey and experiences, they have created a set of services to enable an integrative healthcare journey.
Mental health support
Recognizing the importance of mental health and providing easy access to therapists and other mental health professionals to address stress, anxiety and other psychological challenges is not something optional. If professional sports teams make use of a psychologist to complement their physical development, it makes sense that a family wellness plan incorporates a similar psychological support element too.
There are of course many other considerations than this handful, and with each family’s needs and preferences being unique it’s crucial they take the time to connect with the most suitable partners and tailor a customized plan that works for them.
As with anything, communication and collaboration are essential to ensure the best possible outcome, to broach what has historically been taboo subjects and to put in place sound strategies to ensure health is rightly managed just as effectively as wealth.
Whether it’s concierge medicine or full service healthcare strategies including insurances and more there are more options than ever before to help family offices deliver the right level of services to their beneficial owners, clients and teams.