Vim & Vigor - Fall 2008 - North Denver - (Page 52)

right at I having a primary care physician and personal home t’s said that home is where the heart is. But when it comes to a personal medical home, it’s also where the health is. Just ask family physician Clint Flanagan, M.D., of North Vista Medical Group in Broomﬁeld. “When we speak of a personal medical home, we’re talking about much more than a ‘primary care provider,’” Flanagan says. “We’re focusing on the relationship that person has with his or her family physician, because with that relationship, the individual has a coach, an advisor, a partner in care. Now he or she can count on having someone who assumes overall responsibility for coordinating care among all health providers.” medical home is key to getting top-notch care by carla carwile Having a single source for health service coordination—particularly one that factors in the physical and emotional health of other family members and the community in which they live—can have big advantages over less integrated models, Flanagan says. concerning costs “Having a patient-centered medical home is better for the patient and better for the healthcare system,” Flanagan says. It’s a perspective made that much clearer by the fact that he works as an emergency According to Clint Flanagan, M.D., here are just a few of the perks to having department physician as well as a full-time family practice physician. a primary medical home: “When a family doesn’t have a personal • IMPROVED PATIENT OUTCOMES. “We have more complete informamedical home, the emergency department tion on which to base decisions.” and/or urgent care center serves that pur• BETTER CARE. “We’re able to bring together the necessary resources pose,” he says. “So when little Johnny has and avoid the service gaps that can compromise overall care.” a severe sore throat and there’s no physi• HEALTHIER POPULATIONS. “We provide more preventive health cian’s ofﬁce to see him, he and his mom may spend hours in the ED waiting room. counseling, more screenings and immunizations. Because of this, we see “She’s missing work and he’s receiving lower death rates due to heart disease, cancer and stroke, and lower rates hospital care—at several hundred dollars of hospitalization for conditions like pneumonia.” a visit—for a matter that easily could be • HAPPIER PATIENTS. “Studies show that patients with primary medical managed in a clinic setting for much less.” homes are more satisfied with their care, and everyone pays less.” Value is also lost because the provider relationship is less personal. a doctor to call your own 52 vim & vigor · fal l 2 008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2008 - North Denver

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2008 - North Denver Contents A Mission in Motion For Your Health Goal! Seeing Beyond Time Equals Muscle The Fiber Solution Prize Fighters On the Cover: Spreading the News I'm Glad I Had a... Tailor-Made Beyond the Bedside On Track Living the Good Life Little Kids, Big Decisions Zeroing In Right At Home Beating the Clock Community Connections Ask the Experts

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2008 - North Denver

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