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Another topic I would like to include here is wellness. We started
a wellness program at our practice that included strong support
and accountability. We helped our patients to be accountable with
their lifestyles including their dietary habits and exercise. The results were amazing! Many, many patients transformed their lives
by eating healthier, losing weight, and turning their lives around.
A few lost over 100 pounds. Many lost 30, 40, 50 pounds. We were
able to discontinue several medications because their blood sugar
and blood pressure improved. I have little doubt that several of them
had sleep apnea that resolved with their weight loss. And they all
learned how to eat healthier and made permanent lifestyle changes!
How about that for helping patients be more accountable? And
isn’t that part of what we should be doing as health care providers?
We are moving into new models of care – from fee for service to
pay for performance, from paper to electronic charts, from physician
led practices to hospital owned practices, from the patient-physician
relationship to patient satisfaction surveys, and soon there will be
many patient visits that will occur via telemedicine visits. We are
GLMS
OFFERS
EHR
moving quickly into new models of care. The “unaffordable care act”
has pushed us a step closer towards a single payer system. And the
system we have right now is failing our patients. They can’t afford
insurance.
While this is not the only part of helping our patients get healthy
and avoid the consequences of unhealthy behaviors, it is a very
important issue that needs much attention in our health care system. It starts with you. Feel free to call or write me if you have any
questions or if I can be of any help to you or your p