The future of healthcare.....

I have been in practice as a chiropractor since 1981.  I have seen many different changes in our healthcare system.  It is my opinion that our current healthcare system is not reflective of what we are capable of as a society.  I could go on and on about what I believe are the reasons we are where we are with healthcare, but I would rather point to where I would like to see the entirety of healthcare move to.  Yes!  I do mean medicine as well as chiropractic.

      Imagine a health care system where the provider works to give the patient symptom relief, speedy natural and non-invasive repair of damaged tissues responsible for the pain, a return of lost functional ability that occurred because of the damaged tissue, as well as providing you with a way to increase your ability to prevent these issues from recurring.  Would a health care system that provides this type of service be of interest to you? 

I am encouraged by articles that have recently been seen in prestigious medical journals like the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Manipulation and Physiologic Therapeutics (JMPT), as well as the premier journal for neurosurgeons Spine Journal.  These journals and many others are reporting that chiropractic is the fastest acting, most effective, and least expensive healthcare provider for musculoskeletal problems.  They advise their subscribing physicians to utilize chiropractic first, before a prescription for medicine, physical therapy, or surgery.  This is all very nice for chiropractic, but what about the rest of the healthcare system?

I was recently in a hospital emergency waiting room with my wife for several hours for an injury she had sustained. The staff was very nice, overworked and understaffed, but very nice.  My wife was triaged in relatively short order but needed to wait for testing to be done.  After three hours of waiting and not being given any results, we left and went home. How do we, as a society, fix issues like that?

I understand that an emergency room operates on an entirely different scale of needing to be seen.  I also believe that all healthcare can do better.  Today’s world has the technology available to us to provide patients, whether they are emergencies or simply doctor visits, a much smoother and more seamless integration. 

For example, several kiosks and/or electronic tablets could be made available to each patient entering a health facility.  Each patient from that device with a slide of a card and a push of a few buttons could have most of the intake information for the healthcare facility already gathered.  This information would then, via a simple AI algorithmic program, literally point the attending physicians toward the most evidence based potential diagnoses from the patient input.  Imagine the time this would save!

All doctors take that information and develop what we call a working diagnosis.  This means we have several potential choices for the symptoms the patient has provided.  We then do more testing with the patient (that a computer may not be capable of….yet) to rule out more of those diagnoses on the working diagnosis list.  

Let’s imagine the scenario I just described for you.  You need to see a doctor, so you electronically schedule your appointment (on  your smartphone, tablet, or computer) and as you do so you receive a message back.  The message asks for your identification data, insurance data, a few questions about your general health, and a few more questions about why you think you need to be seen.  

When you arrive at the healthcare facility you are greeted by name and are asked to check in via an electric device. The entire staff at that medical facility gets a notification that you have arrived.  The front desk is aware, the treating physician is aware, and associated staff is aware and have received each their own pertinent data about you on their devices.

You are escorted to a treatment room where the doctor comes in and greets you by name and asks about your specific condition.  He may perform a quick test or two to refine his diagnosis. The doctor is already aware of what you are looking for in the way of results because the questions you answered at home not only reported your problem but what, if any, activities and functions that you are not able to fully enjoy because of your problem.

You see, in this system, the doctor already knows most of your diagnosis and what you expect from him in the way of results.  The staff knows all your insurance information and is ready to take care of that with a push of a button.  If you chose to, you could have your credit/debit card on file and the billing staff could eliminate the need to even stop at their desk because all of that was taken care of automatically. Oh! Yes! This system would automatically have scheduled you your next appointment from a list of potential times that you previously provided and will automatically send you a reminder prior to your next visit.  

Finally, if this was not enough, this system would send an email with a full report of your diagnosis, test results, home care suggestions, and videos of any exercises you should be doing.  This would be on your own electronic device, likely before you get in your car to go home!  At Weber Chiropractic we will be making use of this system starting March 17!  

At Weber Chiropractic, we have chosen to use this system so we can work together with you, as a team.  Our new electronic healthcare system literally makes you the director of the care you receive.  Our new system allows you to do much of the historical and other health care forms from a home electronic device or from a kiosk that is available in our office.  When the chiropractor gets to see you, we have already reviewed your systems, checked your health history, and are ready for a couple of quick confirmation tests to accurately diagnose you as specifically as possible.  Remember, the more specific the diagnosis, the faster and better the result of the provided care.  It’s not enough anymore to say that a vertebra is out of alignment or the problem is just arthritis.

We also want to know how your presenting problem is affecting your life. This is where you can truly direct our care to best serve you.  If you want to be able to work in your garden again, swing a golf club again without pain, or pick up a grandchild again without hurting, that becomes our goal, because we listened to you.

After we determine your diagnosis and assess your abilities to do the functions that are not at the level that you desire, we start to build your care plan.  The research that is integrated into our system tells us based on your age, level of health, functional ability, and willingness to be actively involved in the plan all we need to give you the most accurate length of time and number of visits needed to reach your desired level of health.

We urge our patients to take this next statement very seriously.  We will do our part as a physician to do everything in our power to help you reach your goals.  You, as a patient, also have a responsibility to do everything we prescribe in the way home care.  We both share responsibility in the process of delivering the most expedient and effective healthcare as indicated by the latest medical research.  As always, you as the patient get to determine your level of health.  If you are someone that wants no frills, just a treatment, and wants to call us when you feel you need us, that is entirely up to you.  We will always encourage you at our initial meeting to accept the best plan we can provide, because we want you to get the most out of our care and out of your life.  

Look for more blogs, Facebook videos, and material on our new system coming to you soon about our new system. 

Remember, your health is our concern!