The Journey That Inspired Our Practice

People often ask me what led me to create Colorado Precision Medicine. The answer began long before I opened this practice.

While studying at the Faculty of Preventive Medicine at Charles University in Prague, one lesson profoundly shaped the way I think about medicine: the only difference between a medication and a poison is the dose. That simple statement has stayed with me throughout my career.

From that moment on, I have always believed that medications are remarkable tools that can save lives and improve quality of life—but they should be used thoughtfully, at the lowest effective dose and for the shortest necessary time whenever possible. My goal has never been simply to prescribe another medication, but to understand why a health problem developed in the first place and whether there is an opportunity to restore health more naturally.

Over more than 25 years of practicing medicine, one truth has become increasingly clear to me: a healthy lifestyle remains the foundation of good health. Again and again, I have seen nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, meaningful relationships, and a strong sense of purpose transform people’s health in ways that medications alone often cannot. Dietary changes, in particular, have frequently produced some of the most profound improvements I have witnessed.

As my career evolved and I cared for increasingly complex patients, I also came to appreciate that a healthy lifestyle, while essential, is not always enough. Our health is shaped by the continuous interaction of our genetics, our lifestyle, and our environment. Today, we face unprecedented exposure to environmental toxins, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, chronic stress, persistent infections related to immune dysfunction, nutrient deficiencies despite healthy diets, and microbiome imbalances that can contribute to disease—even in people who live exceptionally healthy lifestyles.

That realization changed the questions I ask. Instead of asking only, “What disease does this person have, or what disease might they be at risk for?” I believe we must ask, “Who is this person? What are their genetic vulnerabilities? What is their exposome—the sum of all environmental and lifestyle exposures from before birth onward? What factors may have triggered their illness or increased their risk? And, most importantly, what can we do to restore and optimize their health?”

That philosophy ultimately inspired me to create Colorado Precision Medicine.

I wanted to build a practice where there is time to think deeply, listen carefully, ask better questions, and work alongside my patients as partners. A place where medicine is both a science and an art. Where recommendations are grounded in the best available scientific evidence while recognizing that every patient is unique and that medicine continues to evolve. And where, when appropriate, we thoughtfully consider therapies with a sound scientific rationale and an acceptable safety profile—even when definitive long-term studies have not yet been completed—because sometimes patients simply cannot afford to wait decades for science to catch up.

Above all, I believe the best medicine is practiced as a partnership. I don’t see myself as someone who simply tells patients what to do. I see us as co-detectives and co-learners, working together to understand your health, uncover the root causes of illness, and develop a personalized plan that helps you not only live longer, but live healthier, more vibrant lives.

It is both a privilege and a responsibility that I never take for granted.