Personal Primary Care And Weight Management

11/15/2025

Did you know that the lack of price transparency in healthcare is deliberate?

Here’s a real example:

Your doctor orders a simple test.
Insurance “negotiates” a rate of $120 from a hospital-owned provider.
You pay it toward your $5,000 deductible.

What you don’t know:
The cash price for that same test is $15.

Yes… fifteen dollars.

Insurance companies, PBMs, hospital systems, and pharmacy chains have created vertically integrated networks designed to maximize profit — not patient care. When all the major players are financially connected, the prices go up and the patient pays the price.

This is exactly why insurance companies have been buying up PBMs, physician practices, and pharmacies. The more they control, the more they profit.

It’s time for all of us,patients, physicians, and businesses, to demand price transparency.
We deserve to know what we’re paying for.

11/13/2025

Recently, my son injured his right ankle playing basketball and needed an MRI. With my high-deductible insurance plan, the hospital-associated radiology center quoted $950 for the scan. After doing some research, I discovered that a freestanding, non-hospital imaging center could perform the same MRI for $350.

This isn’t an isolated issue — it’s a symptom of our deeply opaque and inconsistent healthcare pricing system.

We see extreme variation everywhere: labs, imaging, procedures, injections, medications. My own mother recently had a basic thyroid function test done for $150 here in the U.S. The same test costs less than $1 in Pakistan, my country of origin.

These discrepancies are not accidental. They are the predictable result of a system where prices are hidden, negotiated in secrecy, and shielded from real market forces.

If we want a sustainable healthcare system, price transparency isn’t optional — it’s essential.
Free markets only function when consumers can compare costs. Opaque pricing ensures the opposite: higher costs, less accountability, and a system that fails patients, employers, and clinicians alike.

Some believe the solution is simply more government control or a government-run plan. But writing a blank check to a broken system doesn’t fix corruption — it funds it. The real solution begins with going after the opaque pricing structures, enforcing true transparency, and letting competition drive costs down, the way markets are supposed to work.

We owe our patients, our families, and our communities a healthcare system where the price of care is not a mystery.

11/12/2025

This is what’s wrong with our healthcare system, we protect our patients, but Big Pharma gets paid.

A 75-year-old woman came to our office today. Our PA did exactly what we’re supposed to, gave her the shingles vaccine.

But guess what?
Medicare Part D won’t pay for it because it was done in a doctor’s office.
So even though we did the right thing medically, we’ll get zero reimbursement.

She should have gotten the vaccine years ago, but like so many others, she didn’t — because the system pushes patients to get shots at big chain pharmacies instead of from their own doctor.

How crazy is that?
We’re punishing the people who actually care for patients and rewarding big pharma and insurance companies that see healthcare as a business transaction.

This is exactly how the system breaks the doctor–patient relationship.
We did the right thing , and still lost.

11/11/2025

Your Pulse Tells a Story

I’m a primary care doctor, and for centuries, physicians have used this simple vital sign to understand disease.

Your resting heart rate reflects the balance between your “fight or flight” and “rest and recover” systems.
When that balance shifts, your pulse often changes before other symptoms appear.

I teach medical students to value this simple skill, feeling the pulse, not just reading the monitor.

Know your baseline.
If your pulse is too high, too low, or irregular, don’t ignore it, your body is speaking.

11/04/2025

10/28/2025

Did you know that VO2 max, your body's maximum rate of oxygen consumption during intense exercise , is one of the strongest predictors of how long you'll live a healthy, active life? This measure of cardiorespiratory fitness directly impacts healthspan (the years you stay disease-free and functional) and longevity.

Research shows that people with higher VO2 max have significantly lower risks of cardiovascular disease, better overall performance, and extended lifespans

Track yours with a fitness watch or lab test, and let's prioritize aerobic power for a longer, stronger life! 💪🫁


We are already partnering with to measure and track cardiovascular metrics.

The future of healthcare is prevention, lifestyle management and Food is Medicine.

10/12/2025

Hiking with Taj. Nothing is better to turn on some longevity genes than walking the woods with your work family. New England fall, nothing beats it. Get out!!!

10/06/2025

Combination Therapy of Bimagrumab and Semaglutide Enhances Fat Loss and Preserves Muscle
As a healthcare provider, I’ve always been concerned about muscle loss when using incretin-based therapies for obesity, diabetes, and pre-diabetes. Focusing on body composition over BMI, ensuring healthy protein intake, balancing macronutrients, incorporating resistance training, and tailoring dose titration have been key to helping my patients maintain a healthy muscle-to-fat ratio during weight loss.
I’m thrilled about the potential of Bimagrumab in preserving muscle mass! The BELIEVE Phase 2b trial, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study, evaluated bimagrumab—alone and in combination with semaglutide—in 507 adults with overweight or obesity. Bimagrumab, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting activin type II receptors, promotes muscle preservation and growth. Participants received semaglutide as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection and/or bimagrumab via IV infusion at weeks 4, 16, 28, and 40.
Key Findings:
• Primary Endpoint (Body Weight Change): The combination of bimagrumab and semaglutide led to a 22.1% reduction in body weight (−10.8% with bimagrumab alone; −15.7% with semaglutide alone).
• Secondary Endpoints: The combination therapy resulted in greater reductions in waist circumference, total body fat mass, visceral adipose tissue, and inflammation markers compared to either treatment alone.
• Fat Loss vs. Muscle Preservation: With combination therapy, 92.8% of weight loss came from fat mass (vs. 71.8% with semaglutide alone). Bimagrumab alone achieved 100% fat mass loss with a 2.5% increase in lean mass.
These results highlight the transformative potential of combining bimagrumab and semaglutide for optimizing fat loss while preserving muscle, paving the way for healthier weight management strategies!

10/03/2025

On Compassion, Humanity, and the Heart of Medicine

As an internist, I’ve learned that when patients pass away, they often take a small piece of you with them.

Back in 2011, I met Hilda a beautiful, strong Black woman who reminded me so much of my own grandmother. We connected instantly. Over the years, our relationship grew into something deeper than just doctor and patient. Last week, she passed away, at the exact same age my grandmother was when she died. The coincidence felt like the closing of a quiet, sacred circle.

In today’s profit-driven healthcare system, it’s easy to lose sight of what really matters. But for me, it has always been about the relationship, the trust, the laughter, the grief, the humanity. These are the things that can’t be captured in quality metrics or billing codes.

At Personal Primary Care & Weight Management in Springfield and East Longmeadow, MA, this is what value-based care really means to me: care that’s rooted in compassion and connection. Care that’s personal.

Rest well, Hilda. Thank you for being part of my journey. Much Love, Your Doctor
Dr. Talal Khan

09/13/2025

Dr Khan explains incorporation of whole body MRI in our longevity practice. Learn more at https://personalprimarycare.com/khan-longevity-care/

09/02/2025

Every few years, a different macronutrient becomes the target of public scrutiny or adoration. For decades, dietary fats were vilified, prompting the food industry to profit from a surge of fat-free products ranging from yogurt to ice cream. More recently, carbohydrates have come under fire, while protein has been elevated—often uncritically—by fitness enthusiasts and celebrities alike.

However, the evidence continues to support a more balanced and holistic approach to nutrition. A diet that includes all essential macro- and micronutrients—preferably sourced locally and organically—and is paired with regular physical activity, offers the greatest long-term health benefits. Rather than demonizing or idolizing individual macronutrients, we should emphasize dietary patterns that are grounded in evidence, such as the Mediterranean diet. This eating pattern, rich in fiber, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and moderate amounts of lean meats, has consistently been associated with improved health outcomes and longevity.

Beyond diet, a comprehensive approach to health includes quality sleep, regular periods of rest, mindful breathing, alignment with circadian rhythms, and meaningful social connections. Simple practices—such as shared meals with family and friends—can significantly enhance well-being and promote a longer, healthier life.