The Concierge Doc Podcast with Dr. Jason Littleton, M.D.
The Concierge Doc Podcast is hosted by Dr Jason Littleton, M.D., where he features medical content to make smart lifestyle choices for optimal health, wellness, energy, youthfulness, longevity, balance, and happiness.
The Concierge Doc Podcast with Dr. Jason Littleton, M.D.
Revolutionizing “Marketing Medicine: How Steve Schwartz Is Redefining Concierge Care”
Dr. Jason Littleton sits down with Steve Schwartz, CEO of Concierge Medical Marketing, to explore the transformative benefits of concierge medicine and innovative marketing strategies for concierge practices. They discuss how the direct doctor-patient relationship model fundamentally improves healthcare delivery through accessibility, personalized attention, and partnership.
• Traditional healthcare typically allows only 3-5 minutes with doctors compared to 30-90 minutes in concierge medicine
• Concierge doctors are "always online" for patients, available via text, email, or phone for immediate feedback
• The partnership approach builds confidence and connection, helping patients navigate health challenges
• Concierge Medical Marketing offers transition, growth, and nurture programs for concierge practices
• Introduction of "MADDY," an AI digital marketing assistant specifically designed for concierge medical practices
• Importance of optimizing Google business profiles to capture the 44% of searchers who click on map listings
• Steve's personal health routine includes morning walks while listening to the Bible, stretching, and healthy eating
• Managing sleep apnea with CPAP therapy has dramatically improved Steve's energy and daytime alertness
Visit www.cmmkg.com/Maddy to access the free AI marketing assistant for concierge practices and check out Steve's new book "Just Ask MADDY."
https://cmmkg.com/justaskmaddy-thebook
Visit Dr Jason Littleton's website: https://www.jasonmd.com/
Follow Dr Jason Littleton on Instagram and Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/therealdoctorjason/
Watch Dr Jason Littleton on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@therealdoctorjason3340
Disclaimer:
Access to the Information and materials contained in this podcast is at your own risk. The information contained is presented for the purpose of educating the consumer on a variety of wellness and health care topics (the “Information”). Nothing contained is intended to be instructional for medical diagnosis or treatment. The Information contained is compiled from a variety of sources. The Information should not be considered complete and not exhaustive and should not be in place of a visit or consultation with your own primary care doctor.
The views, opinions and statements expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Dr Jason Littleton or the Concierge Doc Podcast. We do not endorse or take responsibility for any statements, claims or perspectives shared in this content. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and form their own conclusions.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Access to the information and materials contained in this podcast is at your own risk. The information contained is presented for the purpose of educating the consumer on a variety of wellness and healthcare topics. The information Nothing contained is intended to be instructional for medical diagnosis or treatment. The information contained is compiled from a variety of sources. The information should not be considered complete and exhaustive and should not be in place of a visit or consultation with your own primary care doctor. Welcome to the Concierge Doc Podcast.
Dr. Jason Littleton:I'm your host, ceo and founder of Littleton Concierge Medicine, dr Jason Littleton. Welcome to the podcast. Now, today's guest I'm really excited about because he has a concierge medical marketing business and he's working with concierge doctors all over and he understands it from a different point of view in terms of marketing concierge medicine. But at the same time, he understands why people need to engage in concierge medicine practices patients, people who want better care, people who want point of care. And I'm really excited as well because he has a new book out and he's gonna talk about that. I'm really excited as well because he has a new book out and he's going to talk about that. I'm also a client of his. He is a wonderful person. I've gotten to know him over the last year. I can't wait to introduce you to him. Welcome to the Concierge Doc podcast, steve Schwartz. Steve, welcome to the podcast.
Steve Schwartz:Hi Jason, Thank you so much for having me. It's really my privilege to be on your show and really looking forward to sharing my story with your listeners.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Well, I'm really excited. You know, one of the things I want to start off because of your expertise and I think this is really important for patients, people to hear this why should people engage in concierge medical practices? Why should they engage with a concierge medical doctor?
Steve Schwartz:Great question. So over the last, you know, dozens of years, people have gotten used to the status quo of their medical care, and that's the traditional insurance-based model. You know, your employer helps pay for your insurance or you have to pay for it yourself if you're self-employed, or whatever the situation might be. But when it comes down to it, when you're sick, you have to call your doctor's office, and many times you're not able to get in. They may say sorry, we're slammed, go to the urgent care. If it's really bad, go to the emergency room and let me know how it works out. That's not medical care, that's not compassion, that's overwhelmed and I just simply can't take you in right now. And so, when it comes to concierge care, I love this shift that America and now other countries are also doing toward dramatically improving patient care, and the way we do this, obviously, is that the patient has a direct relationship with their physician. They pay their physician a certain amount of money per month or per year and in doing so, they get dramatically increased access to their physician, the ability to call or text or email securely with their physician and get immediate feedback, for example. Hey, I woke up this morning and I just didn't feel good last night and something's definitely wrong. I'd love to be able to text my doctor and say, hey, something's up. And the doctor can text me back in three minutes saying, hey, come on in, let's get this figured out.
Steve Schwartz:So many times I've spoken with people who are unhappy with their traditional health care, their primary care provider, and it's not that they have a problem with the person, it's just the system.
Steve Schwartz:When they get to see their doctor, in many cases they see their physician for maybe three to five minutes and that's simply not enough time to dig into the true issues of what's going on in that patient's life their health, their exercise, their diet, how much water do they consume, how much sleep are they getting, maybe even personal issues, emotional issues that are causing a drain in their emotional state which is leading to something physical. And in concierge medicine, a patient can sit down with their doctor for 30, 60, 90 minutes or more and really dig into what's going on in their life, so that the physician gets a bigger holistic feel about what's going on and can give dramatically better advice, order the right tests and get to the right conclusions on the issue for improved care. So concierge, in my opinion, is definitely the way to go and I'm thrilled to see you leading the charge, helping your patients, growing your practice, jason, as well as helping to mentor and guide other physicians as they start their concierge practice. So way to go.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Yeah, no, I really appreciate that. I love what you said as you were talking, you know, one of the things that I was thinking about is that one of the differences between an insurance based practice and a direct primary care practice like mine is that I consider, like insurance practices, you know, kind of a offline type of care where your concierge doctor is always online for you, you know, always ready to go. It doesn't matter if it's a Saturday or a Sunday. I know that's the way it is in my practice and I think that's important because when we're talking about your health, first of all, health is probably one of the top concerns people have, you know, on their minds from a day-to-day basis and having a doctor that can respond to you any day of the week, he's always online for you, it's connected, and I think that's so important when it comes to making minute decisions about your health, your day-to-day decisions as it relates to healthcare. That's so important.
Dr. Jason Littleton:I always like to say that insurance doctors see about 24, 30 patients a day and then that means that they see a patient every 15 minutes, a new patient every 30 minutes.
Dr. Jason Littleton:They're stacking 12 to 15 patients per half day and then another 12 to 15 patients in the afternoon and it's cattle call medicine and I just don't think that's good care. You want to have a doctor. I know in my practice I sit down with people. We sit down at their kitchen table, we sit down in a comfortable setting and we work through their concerns and we put together a holistic plan so that they feel connected, they feel heard, they feel seen and they're connected and we can go forward with certain goals in mind so that they feel confident in their care. And that's what I love best about concierge medicine. You know one of the things when we talk about the benefits of concierge medicine from your take, from a marketing perspective, for the clients that you work with, what are some of the things that you promote in other people's practices to let people know that, hey, you know what you need to connect with this person?
Steve Schwartz:You need to connect with this practice. Yeah, great question, jason. When it comes down to it, concierge practices are comprised of a few major components and the very first and, I think, most important initial component is personality relationship. That's why we call the first appointment the meet and greet. Right, it's not a clinical appointment, it's a chance to sit down together to speak with somebody as a human, as a fellow human, and get to know them a little bit and learn a little bit about their lives.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Right the introductory call.
Steve Schwartz:Absolutely and truly just get a chance to get to know them as a person. And in doing that, in this meet and greet phone call, sit down. Whatever way a practice does it, we get to determine are we potentially a good fit for each other Me as your provider, you as the patient? Can we work together in a partnership for best outcomes for the patient? Right? And so, yes, let's say we have a great meeting. Say yes, I feel comfortable, yes, this is the investment, this is the terms of our engagement here and how this is going to work.
Steve Schwartz:Here are the lines and the borders. In other words, don't text me at 3 am. If it can wait till 8 or 9 am, you know I'd like to be able to sleep and can be ready and fresh for my day. But if it's urgent, yes, text me at 3 in the morning and go to the emergency room where I'll meet you there, whatever the arrangement is between that concierge doctor and their patient. But first and foremost, can we get along? Do we jive? Do we have a good opportunity to grow an awesome relationship over years to come? Then medical and then everything else beyond that.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Yeah, I like what you said partnership, and that's the way I see it as well. You know, I like to give this type of parallel. If I had the challenge, the backpack with a client from the Eastern seaboard all the way to the Pacific coast, and the challenges that we would face, um, my attitude is this me, you and me and you together can figure anything out, we can get there, we can make it happen, no matter how big that challenge is. Going from the East coast to the West coast is a huge challenge on backpack, no doubt about it. It's gonna take time, you have to be patient, but it's a challenge that we can figure it out together.
Dr. Jason Littleton:And sometimes healthcare can be like that. You can have challenges, very serious illnesses, things that seems insurmountable, but I just feel like me and the client, me and the patient together, we can figure it out. We don't have to know everything in the client, me and the patient together we can figure it out. We don't have to know everything in the world, but we're sure going to find out what we need to find out to get you to your destination. And I think that's so important. When you have that attitude, that type of relationship, that type of communication you can make anything happen, and I think that's so important. It gives hope, it gives connection and it gives confidence that you know what I'm with someone who's going to figure it out and we're going to get there.
Dr. Jason Littleton:So that's the way I think of it. When you said partnership, that's what it makes me think about and when I am on the introductory call with people, that's something that you know I bring up from time to time. You just did a wonderful, beautiful website for me. I love it, and we've got that introductory call on the screen. The homepage at jasonmdcom, you know you guys got to check it out. And with that I want to segue a little bit more into about what you do, you know as CEO of your business. Tell us the name of your business and tell us what you do, and tell us about your new book.
Steve Schwartz:All right, happy to share, my company is Concierge Medical Marketing.
Steve Schwartz:We are a digital marketing agency that is designed specifically to help concierge and direct primary care practices with their marketing to achieve the goals that they've set for their practice.
Steve Schwartz:With their marketing to achieve the goals that they've set for their practice. And we offer three different programs, and each of the programs is tailored a little bit differently again, depending on the goals and the situation of our client. The first program we call transition, and this is for a medical practice that may have 3,000 or 4,000 patients in a traditional sense and they've decided that they need to get out of that rat race, get out of that model and start their own concierge or DPC practice. And so the transition program are different digital marketing methods and techniques to educate and inform the existing patients about why the practitioner is switching to a more direct care model, what are the benefits of switching, why is the investment that they would pay absolutely worth it and to streamline that process right, because if you're going from 3,000 patients to a panel of 300, it's a lot easier to transition folks who already know like and trust you rather than going out and trying to find new patients to join to fill your panel.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Yeah, well said, I love it.
Steve Schwartz:Yes, absolutely so. The first program we offer is called Transition. The second, which is very popular, is called Growth. The second, which is very popular, is called growth, and this is specifically for a practice who wants to grow their panel to whichever number is their desired size, whether it's 300 or 400 or 500, whatever that number may be, and they're not there yet. Where we advertise the practice out on the internet to try to put ads in front of the eyeballs of people who are the most likely candidates for that practice, as well as putting ads and messages in front of eyeballs of people who are actively searching for a medical practice in their area that does what they offer. So we call that growth.
Steve Schwartz:And then the third and final program that we offer we call nurture. This is so important A practice and you have your 300 or so patients in your panel and maybe even have a waiting list and you're in a good spot, is it important to to continue to share your your business name and message, your face as your practitioner, what we stand for, health tips, exercise, ideas, all these different things that we want to continue to nurture our existing patients so they continue to see the practice's name and face and message and advice and suggestions so that they feel loved, they feel appreciated, they feel seen and it helps them feel like this practice really appreciates me being a patient and I even more so appreciate being a patient of their practice. And so what happens? Every year they renew. As we all know, in marketing it's dramatically easier to keep a happy client happy than it is to find a new client.
Steve Schwartz:Same thing goes with health care it's easier to keep a happy patient happy than it is to find a new client. Same thing goes with healthcare it's easier to keep a happy patient happy than it is to find a new patient and get them onboarded. So those are our three programs transition, growth and nurture, and concierge medical marketing is focused, again, specifically on helping our clients, concierge and direct primary care practices achieve their goals, and the way that I like to do this is in a partnership kind of consultative manner. It's not, it's not my place to say you have to do this and you have to do this and I'm a salesman and I'm going to sign you up for this and you have to pay a lot of money for that, and no, no, no, no, no, no. Let's take the time to really figure out your goals. Let's take the time and the effort to really figure out who's looking for a practice like yours right now. What phrases are they actually typing into Google right now in your area to find a practice such as yours? Is phrase A more popular than phrase B? And is there a phrase C that we didn't even think about that more people are searching for in your area for some reason.
Steve Schwartz:These are all things that we want to dig into at the beginning of the relationship because, as a partnership with our clients, we understand that when we utilize our knowledge and skill set and experience to help our clients achieve their goals, everybody wins Right. Everybody wins, and if, somehow, the advice that we give is not in line with achieving the goals, eventually, you know the the engagement's going to be over. So it's in our best position as an agency to partner with our clients for mutual success, knowing full well that as we help our client achieve their goals, we as a company have a happy client and a relationship that'll go on for years to come. And everybody wins right. Everybody has a family, everybody wants to send their kids to college, everybody wants to pay off their mortgage or their vehicles or you know, whatever it is, I'm no different, you're no different, we're all the same. You know getting to know each other as humans, right, jason?
Steve Schwartz:And so, through our business, there's traditional techniques of marketing things like optimizing your Google business profile, syndicating your Google business profile to over hundreds and hundreds of places throughout the web so that Google pushes your rankings higher in that Google map pack. There's a technique of SEO, search engine optimization, which is how do I get my website to appear at the top of the free or the organic area of Google? We have techniques to do that. Also very popular Google pay-per-click ads, and these happen literally within a week or two, a practice could have their ads at the very top of Google for phrases that we know that people in their area are actually searching for.
Steve Schwartz:There's so many wonderful techniques and methods that you can do, but one of the things that I've been super excited about, especially over the last couple of months, is how to use artificial intelligence AI to help a medical practice with their marketing. I have spent hours and hours of time digging in deep with my chat, gpt and other AI tools, and I've created something that I'd love to share with your listeners. Now, if that's all right, yeah, please.
Dr. Jason Littleton:I want to hear about this and you know, by the way, I love what you said because you know, when it comes to getting out, the mission of Littleton Concierge Medicine, which is really important to me, is really perpetuating this type of care really throughout the world. I just feel like I'm on a mission to help people and have connected care. The things that you're talking about SEO, key phrases and things like that help attract people to my business, which is important, because I want to get this message of you can be confident in your health, you can be connected and you can feel whole, and it's so important and I think what you're talking about really just accentuates that, perpetuates that and really communicates that into a very articulate way and amongst the masses. So I'm really you know it's what you're talking about is so important and that's why I want I want people to really get this.
Steve Schwartz:Tell us about your new book what you're talking about is so important, and that's why I want people to really get this. Tell us about your new book.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Sure.
Steve Schwartz:And before I do, I love your comment about worldwide. Yeah, Because literally in the last two days I've spoken with a concierge practice that's based in the UK.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Yeah.
Steve Schwartz:And they're growth focused and I'm interviewing them for my podcast next week. And number two a single practitioner um concierge doctor, cardiologist in the country of North Macedonia which is North of Greece.
Steve Schwartz:Wow, and I went to his website and I can't read it because it's all the the the language characters of his area Greek letters or Macedonian. And I can't read it because it's all the language characters of his area Greek letters or Macedonian and I can't read it. But I'm going to chat with him and see if there's any way that we could help him grow his panel. Even though he's on the other side of the planet and it doesn't matter where we are on this big beautiful ball of water and mud, people want improved care for their health. They want improved relationships with their provider.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree with that.
Steve Schwartz:I'm so glad to partner with you and your efforts to spread the wonderful message of concierge care with as many people as you can get exposed to. As many people are willing to listen, because I truly believe that they're going to have better outcomes because of it. So I just say keep up the good work and keep fighting, brother. Yeah, thank you, it's a good thing you're doing so. To answer your question about AI and my new book, I do monthly free workshops, webinars that are. I cover different digital marketing topics, and my topic for the month of March was optimizing your Google business profile for maximum lead generation, and with that workshop, I offered a free resource, which was an AI guide, basically offering prompts that people can copy and paste into the AI tool of their choice to help them use AI to properly create the content to optimize their Google business profile. Quick time out for those who don't know what I'm talking about A Google business profile is the thing that appears on Google when you search for you know pizza restaurant near me, or you know best dentist or whatever.
Steve Schwartz:There's usually a map and then there's usually three businesses listed with their name and the reviews and the phone number and links to you know, website and map and all that stuff so each of those is called a Google business profile website and map and all that stuff so each of those is called a Google business profile. And one of the statistics I saw recently was that when people search for a business like that, typically 44% of the people searching click on one of those three businesses listed in that Google map pack. All right, 44% that's nearly one out of every two requests. So it's incredibly important that any small business concierge, medical or a dentist or a pizza restaurant doesn't matter. You want to be in that Google map pack for to have the fighting chance, the opportunity to get one out of every two clicks See what I'm saying.
Steve Schwartz:So, all that being said, I created this guide and the next day, after doing my talk, I was debriefing and looking at what I did and I thought you know what? Why am I only using a prompt guide for optimizing a Google business profile using AI? Why don't I expand that guide to have more AI prompts and information to help a business, a concierge or DPC practice with all of their marketing? And all of a sudden, my mind is like just exploded so excited and then I thought wait a second, people are not going to want to copy and paste prompts from a book or a PDF in order to utilize an AI tool. What they need is to have a custom GPT created that's been trained in all of this the prompts, all of the details, everything that you need to properly at least have a good fighting chance to use AI to market your practice yourself. Okay, quick timeout.
Steve Schwartz:If you've used ChatGPT, most people will try it. They'll sit down, they'll type in something like hey, write a blog post about such and such, or maybe draft an email about something or revise this message to be more professional, whatever it is. That's a very basic use of chat GPT. But what I did is I created a custom GPT, a custom program, a custom AI assistant, and the AI assistant has been trained on digital marketing. It's been trained on concierge and DPC practices and it's been trained on my company's methods, on how you start with the foundation of your marketing, like a go to Google and type in concierge doctor near me, and then the next level up would be passive prospects, those who are not actively looking for your business, but if you put your message in front of them enough times, they might become interested. So there's a process that we go through it as an agency to help our clients with their additional exposure and client acquisition. This AI tool, this custom GPT, has been trained on that method as well Huge checklists and personas and all kinds of cool stuff.
Steve Schwartz:So, anyways, I thought we've got this amazing concept of a custom GPT, but guess what? That sounds so technical and so like out there that too many people are going to think I can't do this. I don't know what he's even talking about and I don't ever want tech geek speak to get in the way of helping a concierge practice succeed with their business and their marketing. Is I called this custom GPT Maddy M-A-D-D-Y. Maddy is a name that stands for marketing assistant, right M-A.
Steve Schwartz:So Maddy, and Maddy is, as far as I know, the first and only AI digital marketing assistant created specifically for concierge medical and direct primary care practices, and your listeners have a chance to use it absolutely free. Yeah, All right, I love it. So, and as I talked about, I started with a prompt guide and then I thought, wow, I really need to have a more comprehensive guide on on all these prompts. And then I thought I don't need a. I don't need a prompt guide, I need a book. I need a book that would be a companion to Maddy the tool, and so what I did is I wrote just ask Maddy.
Steve Schwartz:Love it, love it, that's a digital, the AI digital marketing assistant for membership medical practices. And here's the book and I'm happy to send a copy to any of your listeners who want a copy of this. I'll even pay for the shipping, I don't mind.
Dr. Jason Littleton:That's incredible, that's incredible.
Steve Schwartz:All right. So here's the thing this book has 85 pages and it's a quick and easy read and it's really a guidebook to help you walk through Maddy and what I want to share with your listeners. With Maddy, you can very easily click the link, pull up Maddy in your own account of of chat GPT, and I do strongly recommend that you pay the $20 per month fee to open AI for the use of ChatGPT Plus. And here's why, when you use the paid version of ChatGPT, you are getting the ability to ask it many more questions per day. You get to use it more, but, more importantly than that, it will remember the things that you've typed in previously. The things that you've typed in previously. The free version maybe, maybe not the paid version does a much better job at remembering what you've typed into it before, so it can build up on it over time.
Steve Schwartz:So, all that being said, here's how Maddy works. You click the link and I can provide the link to you to share with your listeners. It's fine. The link is cmmkgcom slash Maddy M-A-D-D-Y. Cmmkgcom slash Maddy. That's it. You click that link. It'll take you to ChatGPT. If you don't have an account of ChatGPT already, please sign up and then again put in your credit card. Give them the $20 per month. Trust me, it's worth it.
Steve Schwartz:Then you're at the very beginning of using Maddy. All you need to do is click the button that says I'm new here. Let's get started. And what Maddy is going to do over about 10 to 15 minutes or so. Maddy is going to ask you lots of questions. It's going to onboard your practice into its memory, essentially into your account, your usage of Maddy. And here's the so-called Jason. It can even analyze your website to see if your website's content is in line with your brand voice.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Yeah, I love it. I mean, I think, I mean we it. There's so many applications to this and I think concert doctors, practices all around the world is going to are going to love it. I cannot wait to see an action. I think it's going to make patient care so much more streamlined, not only for the practitioners but for the patients. I mean. I just think that, um, you know, it's just the time for this type of application. I'm looking forward to um having Maddy work for me and I'm, I'm, it's going to be, it's going to be exceptional.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Now I, I want to, I want to move on to something else, just for sake of time, because I want to. I want to talk about what I always ask all my guests how they move, eat, drink, sleep, and I think that's so important. And, um, I want you to tell us a little bit about again, um, because everyone I have on the show talks about you know what they do, because you know, again, you're the CEO of your marketing company and to do that, you have to stay healthy. You have to stay and this is the functional part I mean people are being healthy so that they could do their purpose in their career. And when we talk about that. I want you to share how you move eat, drink, sleep. Starting out with how do you move?
Steve Schwartz:So for me, the topic of moving, eating, drinking and whatnot, very simple with me. Just a quick backstory I'm 53 now. I've had two back surgeries in my lower back for herniated discs and unfortunately, you know, I had to have those surgeries to help me continue to be as healthy as possible, and so for me, exercise can't be anything that's like jumping jacks or anything too intense or stressful, because I don't want to have another herniated disc and have to get another surgery. So what I do is, pretty much every morning I have the audio Bible app, so when I'm walking in the morning I'm listening to the word of God and, as a believer, that helps me know that I'm starting my day grounded, as a man of faith, and helps me, you know, stay in track and in line with with what I believe every day. So that's how I start my day.
Dr. Jason Littleton:I love that I'm a Christian as well and, uh, I, I and I've shared that so many times on my podcast Jesus is my risen Lord and Savior, and I love how you start your day out that way. I do the same, I do something similar, and I think that's a great way to get you going and get you moving.
Steve Schwartz:Yes, but also your headspace right. Far too often, as business people, we wake up in the morning and our heads running with okay, we got this email, I got to send this proposal, I got to pay this bill, I need to do X, y and Z, and you know from the word it says seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then all these things will be added onto you. Now I don't know if Jesus was talking about you know, running businesses and this and that and the other. I mean maybe he was, maybe he wasn't, but the way that I hear that is put God first and God foremost in your life and then everything else will fall into place and you can have trust and your confidence, knowing that things are going to be okay, even through challenging times. So that's how I start my day.
Steve Schwartz:Once I get back from my walk kind of hot and sweaty I kick off my walking shoes and then I start doing stretches and exercises at my home, stretching out my legs and my calves and legs, and you know bends and different leg exercises, and you know bends and different leg exercises. Um, I also do squats uh, like seated squats and um, abdomen exercises that I can do in a chair. I just have to be really, really careful that the things that I do don't aggravate my spine and the discs because, as I said, I don't want to get another back surgery. Um, as far as eating and drinking, um, I try to eat healthy. I try to avoid carbs if possible, but you know, I still might have a sandwich, ok, but I might. Instead for lunch, instead of having a big turkey sandwich on bread, I might just have the turkey and cheese and roll it up with a little mustard and some fruit, right. So I try to drink water a lot. I go through my my, in fact, here it is.
Steve Schwartz:I go through this thing several times a day with water and usually at lunch or dinner time I'll have bubble water, carbonated soda that we make with the what's that machine called. You put your water in and it carbonates it for you with a little splash of lemonade or fruit juice of some sort to give it some taste. But for the most part it's just, you know, bubble water. And in doing so, over the last, I'd say, a couple of months, I'm down about 10 to 15 pounds and I feel better and I continue to want to lose some weight because I realized, you know, at some point I want to be able to travel more and enjoy my wife and my kids and grandkids, and if I don't have my health it's going to be miserable, and I don't want to be miserable. I want to know that I've worked my life to make a difference in the lives of other people and I want to be able to enjoy retiring at some point and being healthy enough to that's good, that makes sense.
Dr. Jason Littleton:How you know when we get to, you know when we talk about moving each night to sleep, the sleep part. I want to ask you, uh, if you wouldn't mind sharing how many, how many hours? What is your number? How many hours do you sleep each night? Sure?
Steve Schwartz:Typically seven to seven and a half hours, is pretty consistent. I discovered, maybe about 10 years ago, that I have obstructive sleep apnea, and I did a home test with my doctor and came back and said yeah, you've got mild to moderate sleep apnea and you need a CPAP machine. And I said okay, how do we do this? And, and it took a couple of weeks for me to get used to it, and after I did, though, I sleep so much better and I'm so grateful. Let me just put it this way before being diagnosed and being aware that I had sleep apnea, I would find that I was tired all the time. You know, in the afternoons, I just felt like I really need to lie down at two or three in the afternoon and just take a snooze. And, and you know, in the afternoons I've just felt like I really need to lie down at two or three in the afternoon and just take a snooze. And, and you know, when you're working and running a business, you just literally you just can't stop and take a nap in the middle of the day and um. But after being successful with the CPAP machine, I realized that I didn't need to do that anymore, and typically, I can go till till 10, 30, 11 o'clock at night and I'm like, okay, I'm feeling good, I'm ready to go to bed now and get a good night's sleep.
Steve Schwartz:And I had interviewed a medical practice for my podcast, the Concierge Medical Marketing Podcast, and they were a company that has a wearable ring, a sensor, and I forgot the name of it but you put the ring on and it links to an app on your phone and then you go to sleep and that's the entire sleep study technology. And so I did a sleep study for the course of a month and they reviewed that with me afterward and saw that the CPAP machine was effective. It was helping me with my episodes, doing great, and they offered me ability to tweak my CPAP machine remotely to tighten up a few of the settings. But the fact that I'm treated for sleep apnea, the CPAP machine that I have, is working, and working well, and I'm so much more healthy because of it. I'm very grateful that we figured this out. Yeah, no, that's I more healthy because of it. I'm very grateful that we figured this out.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Yeah, no, that's. I thank you for sharing that. I want to also ask you so what time do you wake up and what's your bedtime?
Steve Schwartz:Sure. So typically going into bed by 11 is pretty safe 1030 sometimes and my alarm is set for 6am throughout the week Saturday and Sunday typically Saturdays I just leave the alarm off to let my body wake up when it wants to, which typically is 6am because it's a pattern, and Sunday I usually set it for 7am and we get to church by 930. The one one different day is my Tuesday morning, which is typically the night from Monday night into Tuesday, is if I don't get enough sleep, it's that night I wake up even earlier. I have a men's Bible study that starts at 630 in the morning at my church from 630 to 730. And so got to get up a little extra early to make it to that. But for the most part, seven hours seven and a quarter is pretty safe. Seven and a half I'm lucky.
Dr. Jason Littleton:That's awesome. Yeah, I mean I think you know one of the reasons I asked everyone on this guest about how they move, eat, drink, sleep because I understand that people have different lifestyles and in order to make them effective, they have to do these four basic things when it comes to their bodily health. So I thank you for sharing that. I really thank you for sharing that. I thank you for discussing with us today about your business and also your new invention, Maddy.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Really excited to see Maddy work for me and my practice and I'm really excited to really just have you on and talk to you today because I think that you know, when we talk about being heard, when we talk about being seen, this is being heard and seen in another way for businesses and practices so that they can help give, get the message of their brand out. And it's so important for me working with you because I believe wholeheartedly in what I'm doing at Littleton Concierge Medicine and we're changing lives here daily and working with someone like yourself helps to really get that message out so that more people can be connected and have the type of healthcare that I think makes a difference in their life. So thank you, steve, for being on. I really appreciate that.
Steve Schwartz:Truly, jason, thank you for inviting me to be a guest, but, more importantly that, thank you for being a good friend and a brother of mine, and I look forward to many, many years of working together for mutual success into the future.
Dr. Jason Littleton:Now, where can people find you again? How can people?
Steve Schwartz:connect with you. Sure, very simple ConciergeMDmarketing. That's our website, conciergemdmarketing, and I'm very active on LinkedIn. I'm on Facebook and several of the other places. My podcast is the Concierge Medical Marketing Podcast and that's available on our website YouTube, spotify, apple Podcasts, amazon Podcasts and now iHeartRadio. So we're available in a lot of places and encourage you to come and check that out as well. Lot of places, and encourage you to come and check that out as well. It's primarily designed for concierge and direct primary care practices who want to learn more about the industry, who want to learn best practices from other practitioners, and I also interview interesting people who are in businesses or offer services that are related to membership medicine practices, like people involved in finance or in the different software, like Serbo or like the Empower Sleep that's the name of the sleep company that I mentioned about with the wearable ring. So different practices and businesses, as well as the practitioners themselves, are guests on my podcast, and I love interviewing folks and getting the opportunity for them to share their story. I enjoyed interviewing you, jason, yeah.
Dr. Jason Littleton:I was going to say I've had the opportunity to be on your podcast as well. No, I really appreciate it, steve, thank you. Thank you for coming on Now. Everyone listen. Continue to follow us on Amazon, apple, spotify, as well as Facebook, instagram, linkedin and, of course, youtube. Thank you for joining us today on this podcast and listening to us. I will see you next time. I'm excited to see you again on the Concert Talk podcast. Thank you.
