Doctors Verses Patients........
Ellen Magenheim
President at We Care Advocates / Halo Health International / Medical Media Solutions
I have been in the health care field for a very long time, yet it still surprises me. People go into the hospital due to some serious pain or attack. They want to be seen right away, given a pill to make everything go away and then they want to go home, yet are surprised when the doctor wants to keep them overnight.
The physicians try to do their best by seeing the patient (or sending in one of their “people”) yet patients are being asked the same questions by different people all trying to fix the issue at hand. Physicians and providers need to realize that the people who come in the hospital don’t feel well, they are scared, tired, in pain and are being shuffled like cattle to test after test all to get back into their room to be treated like a pin cushion for bloodwork, an IV or being poked and prodded by everyone who walks in the room.
The result: physicians ask for consults and then have a mountain of paperwork to do to discharge the patient and give the patient a bunch of paperwork and follow up instructions.
Patients ask what is wrong and what should I do, they get a mountain of paperwork as they have just been told they are going home and the stack of papers for follow up instructions.
What happens next? Doctors go to the next patient and the patient goes home to……. A shower, a nap and then try to remember the follow up paperwork?? Now where did I put that paperwork………..
This is why there needs to be education. That is key to reducing hospital readmissions, poor patient satisfaction results and high medical costs. Education needs to be continual learning. We go to school for a minimum of 16 years yet we don’t spend half of that time on educating ourselves on our own health. Everyone tries, we just need to get better.
The result: Education from the physicians’ office, to the hospital to the home and a quality team approach that puts the patient front and center with healthcare providers.
What happens next? Lower hospital readmissions, healthier communities, lower medical costs for employees and employers, higher patient satisfaction scores, and the list goes on…………
If this is something that you agree with, want to change and break the cycle, please contact me at [email protected] to take next steps.