As a trusted financial advisor, your clients rely on you to help them build and protect their financial assets. But there is another key client asset that needs as much, if not more, attention-their health. The serious or chronic illness or unexpected medical incident, of a client or family member, can have a devastating effect on their financial as well as their physical well-being.

You need look no further than the headlines in The Wall Street Journal for proof. McDonald's Corp.'s CEO Jim Cantalupo, who turned the fast food giant around, suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 60 at a company convention. His successor, Charlie Bell was only in the job a month before his cancer was diagnosed. He served as CEO for just six months and died at 44, two months after stepping down, causing turmoil at McDonald's.

An even more catastrophic example comes from TLC Beatrice International Holdings Corp., a snack food, beverage and grocery store conglomerate that was the largest African-American-owned and managed business in the U.S. When Reginald F. Lewis, CEO and controlling shareholder, died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 50, the company went through a series of leaders, ending with Lewis' widow, who eventually dissolved the company.

While your clients' experiences may not be as catastrophic, ill health does have a negative impact on their ability to effectively run their enterprises and to build assets. In addition to being preoccupied with health concerns, they spend time away from work at physicians' appointments or recovering from medical procedures. Many people also spend a significant number of hours researching treatment options and which physicians and hospitals have the best track record treating their condition. The same kind of distraction occurs when a family member is ill or there are worries about the health of a spouse, child or aging parent. Though your clients are physically "at work," they are not operating at full capacity.

Becoming Your Clients' Health Resource
Good health and peace of mind regarding health issues form the foundation for success in all other areas of life. That's why many financial advisors are expanding their roles and incorporating new tools and approaches that can help safeguard their clients' most essential asset.
There are many different partners you can work with to fulfill this new role. Concierge medical practices are one option. These physician groups usually charge an annual membership fee in addition to a per service fee for care and offer their patients personal attention and fast access to care. The drawback to this approach is that it ties patients to one set of physicians. In some instances, those physicians may not have the expertise  with a certain illness of another physician.

Another option is to build an alliance with a major medical center of excellence through philanthropic giving to that institution by your client. But that support does not guarantee your clients fast access to the care they need, and the medical center they support may not be the best place to seek treatment for a specific condition like a concierge practice would be.

A third option is to work with a private health advisory firm, a new and growing field. These firms charge members an annual fee and act as a complete health management team. When exploring this option, you should seek a partner with a breadth of resources, including:
The ability to provide your clients with facilitated access to top medical practitioners around the world;
An expert team dedicated to performing in-depth, scientifically objective research on any health topic on your client's behalf;
Dedicated personal service that allows your clients to build a comfortable relationship with their health management team;
Worldwide services and support including emergency evacuation and the ability to link clients with top physicians across the globe;
A range of relationship options, since some of your clients will want more wide-ranging services than others.

Be Proactive
Becoming a health resource for your clients means encouraging them to take a proactive approach to protecting their health. The goal is to help clients work toward achieving and maintaining their best health and managing risk factors for heart disease, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Executive physicals, preventive care and regular screenings are important tools. Keep in mind, however, that not all executive physical programs offer the same services, so it's important to work with your health advisory partner to find the program that best fits your client's needs.

In addition to traditional tests like EKGs, mammograms and colon cancer screenings, your clients can consider other screenings to make their preventive approach even more robust. One example is Biophysical250, which uses a blood test to measure 250 biomarkers, allowing clinicians to identify real and potential health risks. It does not test for genetic diseases that have no cure like Huntington's disease or Alzheimer's. Another new tool comes from Inner Imaging, which provides ultra-fast heart scans that determine the presence of calcium in coronary arteries, a sign of plaque build up and atherosclerosis.

A good health advisory partner also helps your clients develop a health strategy and practical plan to improve their health at every age. That could mean working with a nutritionist to create a healthy diet to mitigate heart disease risks, or working with a trainer to engage in an appropriate exercise program to build bone health, maintain ideal body weight and decrease stress.

Just as in the financial arena, there are key needs that must be met to create the best health advisory support for your clients. Keep these factors in mind as you explore the available options.
Access is essential: Your clients need an easy, reliable way to access top quality care anywhere in the world. Your health advisory partner should provide facilitated access to a wide range of medical centers of excellence in the U.S. as well as be able to provide your clients with rapid access to quality care overseas.
Knowledge is power: Your partner should have an expert, dedicated research staff that can investigate any health topic and provide scientifically objective, evidence-based information in a format that your clients can understand. They should be able to provide the latest information about medical technologies, available clinical trials, treatments in development, new and emerging health risks around the globe and the complete spectrum of treatment options including complementary and alternative medicine.
Time is money: Your clients do not have time to effectively manage their health and many forgo needed screenings and preventive care that could help them protect their health and avoid serious illnesses. A good health advisory partner takes that role on their behalf, freeing them to focus on business.
Accurate information is vital: Your health advisory partner should gather, review and consolidate your client's complete health record. A comprehensive, accurate record that can be shared with all treating physicians must be delivered electronically to physicians anywhere in the world to ensure that clients receive the most appropriate, most well-coordinated care.
One size never fits all: The best patient-physician relationships are as unique as the people involved. That is why it is important that your health advisory partner can provide your clients with access to many different physicians and medical centers. In addition, not all centers of excellence excel at treating every condition, so it's valuable to be able to provide facilitated access to a range of centers rather than being tied to a single resource.
Be prepared: Your clients need a health partner who has an effective plan in place that can be quickly mobilized in an emergency. Necessities are premier medical evacuation, a carefully screened list of health care providers across the globe, international medical insurance to ensure cashless access to care overseas, and a dedicated team member who can coordinate care and communication between physicians and with your client.

Good Health, Good Business
Becoming a valued resource for your clients' health not only benefits them, it also helps strengthen and expand your relationships with existing clients and sets you apart from other financial advisors in the eyes of potential clients. It can be a powerful advantage in a very competitive field.

The best advice is to review all the available health advisory partner options and choose the one that can offer you and your clients the most comprehensive, highest quality services and support. You will be helping your clients strive to achieve their best health and making it easier for them to remain fully focused on the business at hand.

Dr. Miles J. Varn is the chief medical officer of PinnacleCare (www.PinnacleCare.com), a leading private health advisory firm. He joined PinnacleCare after 15 years of innovation and leadership at Inova Fairfax Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center with 75,000 patient visits per year. In 2004, Dr. Varn was awarded the Inova Health System's Service Excellence Legend Award for extraordinary patient care.