I've had clothes custom-tailored by a seamstress. I've had vacations custom-planned by travel agents. And now, I've received a custom-designed personal health plan from medical experts.

Recently, I joined a group of volunteers at Emory University submitting to an exhaustive -- and exhausting -- "predictive health assessment" that researchers used to determine the specific health risks I face and to prescribe changes to my behavior and lifestyle with the aim of reducing those risks.

Now, some institutions hope that by making these areas more appealing, they can ease patients' stress, fear and feelings of helplessness, and perhaps influence a patient's outcome for the better.