Vim & Vigor - Fall 2008 - North Denver - (Page 53)

“When I’m working as an emergency physician, I’m not just seeing little Johnny for his sore throat, I’m also responsible for the man in the next room who had a heart attack and the motor vehicle accident patient on her way by ambulance. So my opportunity to really connect with Johnny and consider his overall well-being is extremely limited,” he says. “In healthcare, it’s crucial to empower the patient. That’s very challenging in an urgent or emergent care setting,” Flanagan says. “How can you empower someone you probably will not see again?” the family, it’s far easier to help direct someone’s care and communicate what needs to happen in the process. “It’s critical that patients have access to the right resources— be that social services, a cardiologist, an X-ray facility, a community health resource or a community case manager involved with their insurance,” Laubach says. “Having one person coordinating care deﬁnitely helps things run more smoothly in these days of specialty and subspecialty medicine. “That being said, there is not one person who knows everything. It makes collaboration, cooperation and communication—among doctors as well as with the patient, and if requested, the patient’s family— absolutely essential.” The result, she explains, is a more direct path of diagnosis and treatment and less duplication of services. “There are studies that show general physicians and family medicine docs can provide more cost-effective care. Having an ongoing relationship deﬁnitely factors into that, and in a good way.” find a physician For a referral to a family practice physician and a primary medical home, call ASK-A-NURSE, 303-777-6877. call get better care The American Academy of Family Physicians believes that everyone should have a personal medical home that serves as the focal point through which all individuals—regardless of age, sex, race or socioeconomic status—receive acute, chronic and preventive medical services. Through an ongoing relationship with a family physician in your medical home, you can be assured of care that is not only accessible but also accountable, comprehensive, integrated, patient-centered, safe, scientifically valid and satisfying to both you and your physician. Source: familydoctor.org vim & vigor · fall 2008 continuity, collaboration, community When asked about the advantages of a primary medical home, Sherri Laubach, M.D., of Woodridge Family Physicians, cuts to the chase. “It’s a no-brainer for me,” says the family medicine physician and 9Health Fair trustee. The fact that some of the families she cares for include up to four generations suggests that her patients concur whole-heartedly. “The relationship between a patient and a physician doesn’t occur in a single visit,” she says. “It builds over time. But when it’s in place, when you have the records and know 53 http://familydoctor.org

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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