This is the final chapter of the five part series brought to you by No Health without Mental Health – December 2011
(Health care is in a period of “disruptive innovation
A new paradigm of the way health care is delivered to YOU is being built right now!)
Part I The Changes in Context
Part II Why Change is Necessary
Part III Medical-Behavioral Health Care Integrated
Part IV Many Questions Remain
Part V What It All Means for YOU!
PART IV Unresolved Questions (NOTE: All italicized terms are defined in Glossary)
Glossary for meaning of italicized terms (this link will open a separate page of terms and definitions)
Who Exactly is “You”?
Patients, families, the public, communities
You and Your Doctor — A Partnership Relationship
High-quality care involves at its core a partnership relationship among doctor-providers, patients, and families, that is mutually respectful, responsive, and based on trust.
YOUR responsibility in this relationship is to communicate to your doctor(s), your:
- Preferences
- Needs
- Values
- Life circumstances……so that those parameters can guide doctor’s clinical decisions.
NEXT: THE BIG QUESTION:
What Changes in Your Care Experience Can You Expect?
ANSWER: In four basic ways:
1. Whole Person Care: You the patient are no longer perceived as a collection of body parts or potential diseases(though body parts and diseases are always important!). A doctor practicing high-quality care sees you as an individual with potentially both medical and behavioral health needs, usually inter-acting, and which he/she is prepared to address
in routine primary care practice, and referring to specialists as needed.
2. Coordinated Team-Based Care: Your care will be provided by a health care team, with overall responsibility of the PCP; the team, and you will communicate, coordinate and
collaborate; a care manager, usually a registered nurse, will track and monitor your progress, help you navigate the health care system, and coordinate among the whole team, under the supervision of the PCP.
3. Access to Care: You the patient must be prepared to be flexible, as will the providers, as opportunities are opened up for easier, more convenient access to care, including:
- e-visits
- e-consultations
- secure messaging
- tele-medicine
- online secure EHRs
At the same time, your providers will accommodate patients’ limited physical mobility, cognitive impairment, and language or cultural differences, as relevant
4. Patient Empowerment: High-quality care has, at its core, the concept of expanded involvement of patients and families. You will have new roles and responsibilities….
and these will be well worth the trouble?
- Communicate appropriately with your doctors
- Adopt healthy living habits in your daily living, outside of doctor visits
- Stick to (adhere to) medications and treatment plans
- USE the new platforms for communication, including digital
- Accept and use the tools and services given you by your providers to help you and your caregivers better manage your conditions
- Expect your collaboration with your doctors in every step of the process
So enough on theories and concepts………
What can YOU DO RIGHT NOW to further the transformation towards high-quality care?
GO: Ask questions of your PCP, about changes you’d like to see, prospects for change in his/her practice, status, etc; let your doctors hear your perspective; remember, doctors often don’t know what patients want!
GO: Ask your doctor to take the time to listen to your thoughts on health care change and its impact on you
GO: Volunteer to be on a patient/family advisory council in your doctor’s practice to help collect, distill and provide feedback to providers on what practice patients think
GO: Offer ideas for the practice care redesign team
GO: Complete Patient Experience Surveys
GO: USE electronic platforms for greater communication and access, as they develop
GO: Share decision-making and goal-setting with your doctors over your care
GO: Be a contributor to your care plan — ensure it’s aimed at what works for you in your particular life circumstances
GO: Work with your doctors, adopt a spirit of “Yes, we can make change, IF ……….”
EXERT YOUR POWER AND INFLUENCE – YOU THE PATIENT HAVE WISDOM AND EXPERIENCE TO HELP REDESIGN AND IMPROVE HOW HEALTH CARE IS DELIVERED TO YOU – USE IT !!!
BOTTOM LINE:
WE NEED TO HEAR YOUR VOICE IN THIS HEALTH CARE REDESIGN PROCESS.
SO, IF YOU CARE, BE THERE !!!*