{"id":3747,"date":"2023-09-01T09:28:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T13:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3747"},"modified":"2026-02-01T14:40:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T19:40:30","slug":"wboc-leading-lady-dr-tina-chee-a-more-focused-approach-to-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3747","title":{"rendered":"WBOC Leading Lady: Dr. Tina Chee \u2013 A more focused approach to medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alyssa Dearborn<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When Dr. Tina Chee started her practice with Up Design Primary Care, she wanted to enhance the collaborative journey between the patient and the physician. Building her business with a philosophy focusing on better health through lifestyle habits, Dr. Chee aims to help people live healthier lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m interested in is helping people live their healthiest, and so a lot of the time in the conventional insurance-based practice, there\u2019s just not a lot of time that patients and doctors can spend together to talk about changes they can make and really get behind the reasons for their symptoms,\u201d she said when asked about why she started her practice. \u201cAnd so, I was looking for a model of care that would allow me to spend enough time with my patients to give me better autonomy to practice. So that led me to finding out about this model called direct primary care.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Unlike most healthcare practices, Dr. Chee\u2019s practice uses a direct primary care model in which patients pay a subscription price. Patients then have access to many services offered within the practice. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat includes most of my services,\u201d she said. \u201cSo whether someone needs a physical, sick visit, on-going management, regular touch-bases, it includes all of that as well as the more guaranteed appointment access.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This model allows her to spend more time with each patient, and appointments generally take 30 minutes to an hour, depending on people\u2019s needs. Patients also have the ability to email or text her directly, rather than going through several different people to get a response from their doctor.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of going back to the way things were before this whole focus on volume and just getting as many patients through the door as possible,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But the direct primary care model is not just a business model. For Dr. Chee, the model is a cornerstone of how she can better connect with her patients.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI see myself as a visitor in the patient\u2019s life. Everyone has a certain preference, things that they\u2019ve seen through life. So I\u2019m more of the mindset that I\u2019m there to help and can [help] think through their preferences and the risks and benefits of certain choices with medications and achieving their health goals,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of the first questions I ask people is \u2018what are your health goals?\u2019 because I really like to be able to help people reverse certain things that are related to causing their disease. There\u2019s high blood pressure, diabetes, issues related to higher weight going on and oftentimes you really need some help, not just the doctor telling you what to do, but helping you reach specific goals, making small changes over time to reach those big goals.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The direct care model can also be beneficial to the healthcare provider, allowing doctors to provide more focused service to a smaller number of patients and avoid burnout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that there is a lot of challenges related to physician burnout and a lot of that is related to the way that the system is structured,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt\u2019s really back to the relationship between doctors and patients and that\u2019s what people are seeking: to have a good relationship with their doctor, to be able to talk to them and address their concerns. The impact is with this direct primary care model, what I see, is part of the answer. Maybe not the whole answer, but part of the answer.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of Dr. Chee\u2019s popular offerings at her practice is her weight loss program. The program, which is planning to start a new session in September, is a six-month program that combines one-on-one appointments with small group sessions with other people enrolled in the program.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a combination of the medical evaluation, so one-on-one visits with me,\u201d she explained, \u201cand we\u2019ll go through your medical history, if there are certain weight loss medications that are a fit for you. And also an every-other-week group session where it\u2019s a small group of a few people and we go through topics that are related to health. [It\u2019s] both education and setting goals together and accountability. So it\u2019s kind of everything you need to have a natural process to lose weight as well as adjusting to healthier lifestyles.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about how the WBOC has helped her run her business, she said how being around other entrepreneurial-minded women has helped to inspire and motivate her.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of times when you are on this journey of building a business, it\u2019s helpful to have a community to talk through some of the challenges and to have support and to just have community,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause, you know, finding your tribe is really important in terms of just having that support network. That\u2019s been one of them. I think that just the women that I\u2019ve met who are building their own dreams as well is always inspirational.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But for Dr. Chee, her practice is not just a business, it\u2019s her way of helping people live a better, healthier life. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, talking to my patients and helping them improve their health. I think it\u2019s super rewarding to help people reverse their diabetes, to help them get to a healthier weight so that they can start feeling better, not just because of the weight number,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s so many symptoms related to weight, like acid reflux, pain, less mobility, mood symptoms, and to help them just feel better.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more about Up Design Primary Care, visit <\/span><\/span><\/span>www.updesignprimarycare.com<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alyssa Dearborn When Dr. Tina Chee started her practice with Up Design Primary Care, she wanted to enhance the collaborative journey between the patient and the physician. Building her business with a philosophy focusing on better health through lifestyle habits, Dr. Chee aims to help people live healthier lives.\u00a0 \u201cWhat I\u2019m interested in is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1473,1483,1482],"class_list":["post-3747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-feature","tag-august-2023","tag-direct-care","tag-up-design-primary-care"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Tina-C.3.png?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3449,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3449","url_meta":{"origin":3747,"position":0},"title":"Inspire – Dr. Audrey Van Voolen: Founder of Skaneateles Psychology Associates utilizes a strength-based approach","author":"Alyssa Dearborn","date":"January 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Kate Hanzalik The idea of playing to your strengths resonates with Audrey Van Voolen, PhD. 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