Inside the ‘Whole Health’ Approach Changing Women’s OB/GYN Care
Healthcare is often transactional — a quick visit, a focused concern, and you’re on your way. Diana Health is changing that experience with a “whole health” approach to OB/GYN care that looks at the full picture of a woman’s well-being. Image: Diana Health
A rushed appointment. A short list of symptoms. A quick solution. Then you’re out the door. For many women, healthcare can feel transactional, focused on a single concern rather than the bigger picture. But that model is starting to shift, thanks to Diana Health. With locations across Tennessee, providers are rethinking what OB/GYN care can look like and embracing a “whole health” approach that considers every aspect of a patient’s well-being, not just the reason for her visit.
What does “whole health” really mean?
The core of Diana Health’s mission, the “whole health” approach, is about moving away from the traditionally fragmented model of women’s healthcare — one in which visits are focused on a single issue or stage of life.
Dr. Christopher Sizemore, Chief Medical Officer and one of the founding physicians at Diana Health, explains that women’s healthcare has long been compartmentalized, with separate visits for everything from pregnancy care to well-woman exams and contraception.
“What we’re trying to do is dive deeper into the whole person,” he says. “Patients may come in saying, ‘I’m pregnant,’ or ‘I need a well-woman visit,’ but there are also other things going on — sleep issues, nutrition, weight, mental health. We focus on the ‘ands,’ not just the one reason they came in.”
This approach starts at intake. Rather than focusing solely on standard medical history, the team at Diana Health begins by understanding a patient’s broader lived experience.
“A lot of times, you fill out your health history, and it’s just diseases, family history, allergies — and that’s it,” explains Vice President of Clinical Operations and Certified Nurse Midwife, Dr. Margaret Buxton. “We start our entry to care by asking about your entire life. Your stress levels, your background, your mental health, your sleep, and your nutrition.”
The goal, she adds, is to see the patient as a whole person, not a checklist of symptoms.
Why This Approach Matters
Women’s healthcare is undergoing a major shift right now — one driven by major gaps in research, care, and access. In fact, Dr. Buxton notes that women were historically underrepresented in medical studies, shaping decades of care that didn’t fully reflect their needs.
“Women really haven’t been included in a lot of medical studies until the last couple of decades,” she explains. “So the body of knowledge we have around women’s health — disease management, medications, and overall thriving — is still growing. It feels like women’s health is having its own renaissance right now.”
At the same time, Dr. Sizemore adds that some gaps in women’s healthcare remain, particularly when it comes to menopause. “A lot of women in that mid-40s to mid-50s range have really not had a home and really had nowhere to go,” he explains. “Traditional medicine does not always have an answer for this gap in care.”
At Diana Health, addressing these gaps is central to the business model. The goal isn’t just to treat specific conditions, but to create a place where women feel supported at every stage of life.
Beyond the Basics: Integrating Mental Health, Nutrition & Wellness
Things like mental health, nutrition, and wellness aren’t treated as optional add-ons at Diana Health. Instead, they’re woven into the patient care experience in a way that feels natural.
Dr. Buxton describes this approach as “meeting patients where they are,” recognizing that everyone enters care with different levels of readiness. “We think about something called ‘health activation,’” she explains. “Everyone comes into their healthcare experience with various interest levels and activation levels. Our job is to meet people where they are and not create something unrealistic for them.”
Rather than overwhelm patients with a long list of to-dos and lifestyle changes, the Diana Health team works on building a realistic support system. “We’re set up to be able to have conversations early on to figure out what other resources we can use, like health coaching, nutrition, and mental health services,” Dr. Buxton continues.
Dr. Sizemore adds that an integral part of this model is making certain conversations routine in a patient’s care. “We normalize the discussion of things like mental health,” he says. “We normalize sleep, nutrition, and lifestyle.”
This consistency, he notes, often helps patients share more freely than they might elsewhere. “When you normalize topics, patients tend to open up and actually talk about things,” Dr. Sizemore says. “And not only do we normalize and discuss certain topics, but we actually have the resources to help.”
What This Approach Looks Like in Practice
At Diana Health, the “whole health” model is designed to shape every step of the patient experience — starting before a woman even arrives at the office.
“We have self-scheduling services, so if you remember at 10 p.m. that you need a well-woman visit, you can go online and book it,” explains Dr. Buxton. “You can choose a physician, nurse practitioner, or midwife, and read their bios so you know who you’re going to see.”
Before the visit, patients also complete a digital intake that offers providers a full picture of their lives and health context. “We’re not wasting time asking basic questions,” Dr. Buxton adds. “We can actually start a conversation.”
Even the physical environment at Diana Health is intentional. “We created spaces that are calming,” Dr. Buxton explains. “There are snacks, coffee, and tea. It’s meant to feel more like a living room and not a busy, sterile waiting room.”
Care then continues beyond a single appointment. “It starts a journey of a relationship,” Dr. Buxton says, supported by follow-ups, virtual care, and ongoing communication through the practice’s app.
Empowering Women to Advocate for Their Health
Another important component of the whole health model is the belief that women should feel empowered to participate fully in their care and advocate for themselves.
“Women deserve safe, dignified, and empowered care,” Dr. Buxton says. “They deserve to be treated respectfully, co-creating their journey with their health care provider versus feeling talked down to, dismissed, or not heard.”
Dr. Sizemore agrees that the experience matters just as much as the outcome. “The bar is high,” he says. “You deserve to have a good experience.”
And ultimately, that experience should feel different from what many women have come to expect.
“It should feel relational,” Dr. Sizemore adds. And at Diana Health, that idea shows up in every layer of care — from how patients are scheduled and supported to how providers work together behind the scenes. It’s a quieter shift in medicine, but one that’s reshaping what women can expect from healthcare.
Diana Health offers virtual care options alongside physical locations throughout Tennessee, Florida, and Texas. To learn more and schedule your appointment, visit heydianahealth.com.
This article is sponsored by Diana Health.
Brianna Goebel
Brianna is StyleBlueprint’s Associate Editor and Sponsored Content Manager. She is an avid fan of iced coffee and spends her free time reading romance novels.