Membership
Dr. Mike Towbin is a family physician who also practices medical acupuncture and serves as Medical Director for several nursing homes and assisted living centers under Columbine Health Services. He grew up in Denver, received his Doctorate of Medicine from Brown University in Rhode Island in 1991, and finished his residency in Family Medicine in Fort Collins in 1994.
Dr. Towbin remembers knowing that he would be a doctor by the age of 5. When he was 12, he gave a class report on acupuncture and realized that, even though he would be a medical doctor, he would likely be looking into alternative treatments as well. His passion is connecting with people around their health and helping them live the best, most satisfying lives possible. He attempts this through office consultation, conventional medication use when needed, acupuncture treatment as appropriate, referrals to and consultations from medical as well as complementary practitioners, and the use of Functional Medicine, a relatively new “branch” of medicine that looks at each person as an individual, helping them live as healthfully and naturally as possible.
One of my earliest memories was listening to some friends speak with great affection about my great uncle, Milt Towbin, who was a general practitioner in Denver. Uncle Milt had set up a membership model of healthcare of his own probably in the 1940’s or 50’s, virtually unheard of at the time, and a few of my friends were lucky enough to be his patients later on. He would see them for their annual physical and then as needed for problems or health maintenance issues, and he knew them like “the back of his hand”. All of his notes were personally hand-typed—I know this in part because, after I became a family physician, a couple of his patients who had moved to Fort Collins became my patients, and he sent me their original charts, hand typed with corrected typos and all.
I have been a family physician for over fifteen years, and even in this short time, I have seen some major changes in the way health care is delivered in this country. While some changes (for example, improved medications, surgical treatments and diagnostics) are quite wonderful, there has been an erosion of the patient-doctor relationship ushered in by managed care and pushed along by diminishing primary care reimbursement. I have spent the last decade and a half developing a model of medical practice that brings the most optimal care for my patients together with affordability, transparency and satisfaction for doctor and patient alike.
While other doctors offer “concierge” or “boutique” options, with fancy offices and large waiting rooms, we are here to serve people who are interested in taking part in their healthcare and connecting with their providers on a thoughtful and open-minded journey to health. The most satisfying encounters for me as a physician are when I have the time to sit with patients and families and do the work, preventive counseling and testing, that keeps them healthy and happy. This is, after all, the reason I went into family medicine.
Frequently Asked Questions about Membership