How deep does PROTOCOL actually go, compared with a normal check up?
A typical annual check up runs around 30 markers. The Core Health Test runs over 100, across your heart, hormones, metabolism, inflammation, organ function and micronutrients, from one blood draw at 71 Robinson Road. The depth is not the point on its own. The point is that a doctor reads all of it with you, and that we run the same panel again so you can see which way each number is moving.
What is healthspan, and how is it different from lifespan?
Lifespan is how long you live. Healthspan is how long you live in good health, before decline sets in. The two are not the same: the gap between them in most developed countries runs to roughly a decade spent in poor health. Everything in the system is aimed at that gap, which is why we track trends over years rather than issuing a yearly pass or fail.
Can you really lower your biological age?
Biological age is an estimate, not a diagnosis, and anyone promising to turn it back by a fixed number is selling something. What can be measured reliably is the direction of the markers underneath it: ApoB, HbA1c, inflammation, liver and kidney function, hormones. Those respond to treatment and to changed behaviour, and when they improve together the estimate tends to follow. We report the markers, not just the headline number.
Is this functional medicine, or wellness?
Neither. PROTOCOL is a Ministry of Health licensed medical clinic staffed by registered doctors, using accredited laboratories and tests with published reference ranges. Nothing is recommended that a doctor has not reviewed against your results. The difference from conventional care is not the standard of evidence, it is that we do not wait for a diagnosis before acting.
When should someone start, and is 30 too early?
Thirties and forties are the years the useful trends begin, which makes them the most valuable years to have a baseline from. Most of what we look for moves slowly and silently for a decade or more before it has a name. Starting earlier does not make the test more urgent, it makes every future test more informative, because there is something to compare against.
What actually happens on the day of the test?
About twenty minutes at 71 Robinson Road in the CBD for the draw itself, fasted. Results are ready in a few days and you sit down with a doctor for a full review of every number, what it means in your context and what is worth acting on. You leave with a plan and a record. The consult is part of the test, not an upsell.
Do I have to keep coming back for this to be worth it?
One test gives you a baseline and a clear picture of today. The system compounds: the second test tells you whether what you changed worked, and by the third your trajectory becomes visible in a way no single result can show. You are free to take a single test and stop. Most of the value arrives from the second one onward.
Is any of this covered, or is it all self paid?
PROTOCOL is a private membership, so it is not covered by Medisave or government screening subsidies. Many members do claim through corporate or private insurance, and our team can prepare a quote you can check with your insurer before you start.
