The “In Between Patient Moments”

Have you ever sat across from a Patient, a loved one or maybe a family member during the holidays and heard their story about how they overcame an illness, cancer or seemingly impossible health crisis? Usually they talk about the people and the individuals that were put into their path along the way. “Then I met Dr. Smith … then she did this and this …” Or, “Then he introduced me to and told me to …”We’ve probably never heard a story without a relational component. There’s always a mention of that Doctor, that specialist or that nurse.

How can more Doctors be fully present? How can Doctors with all of the weight you carry into the practice and into the exam room elevate and dignify [verb: make (something) seem worthy and impressive] the Patient relationship?

Patients Are Losing Hope In the Doctor-Patient Relationship, So They’re Turning to Apps, Urgent Care’s and Other Types of Providers

A Patient won’t come back because of function or process or location of your practice or the degree on your wall. Those things might be attractive on paper and convenient … but successful business understand that people, customers, yes, even Patients … choose to come back to brands, businesses, events and experiences because of how they or you [e.g. their Doctor] made them feel. Doctors are in the people business and you’ve got the potential to elevate the dignity of countless people every single day. Yet we’re still losing the caring and relational component of healthcare.

Example: Disney Found An In Between Moment to Impress Their Little Guests … Did You Know There Is A ‘Popsicle Hotline’?

Did you know that the Magic Castle at Disneyland has a cherry red phone mounted to a wall near the pool? When you pick it up and someone answers, “Hello, Popsicle Hotline.” You place an order, and minutes later, a staffer wearing white gloves delivers your cherry, orange, or grape popsicles to you at poolside. On a silver tray. For free!

Very Little Is Being Done To Make A Patient Feel Welcome At A Doctor’s Office. We Used To Do This … But It Stopped. We All Know Why. The Question Is, Why Aren’t We Doing More To Fix It?

Did you know that a Patient is more interested in being comfortable at a Doctor’s office and that they truly want to feel and know that you’re glad they are actually there? That might seem counter-intuitive because most of the time you’re treating symptoms and pain and that’s the reason they are there. Not so. Nothing about the majority of healthcare practices, offices and even hospitals or ERs today communicates to people who are paying them [e.g. the customer] that We’re glad you’re here.

EXAMPLE A: The DPC Journal and its sister publication, Concierge Medicine Today received this text from a Patient in February of 2019 … the Patient had went to see her long-time PCP of nearly 20-years and the Physician made her wait 111-minutes and visited with her in the exam room for 7- of those minutes. It should note, this Physician is not a DPC or Concierge Doctor but practices in what healthcare terms call “Hamster Wheel” healthcare.

So it’s no wonder Doctors are unhappy, burnt out and frustrated. You have an impossible job that you do every day.Patients are as well … and the unfortunate part of that numbers equation is there are more and more patients leaving Doctor’s offices every day late, unhappy, frustrated and in even more debt than they were than when they arrived at your office.

Healthcare is already filled with terrifying in-between moments. How much is this going to cost? What does that mean? How long will that take? How long do I have? Etc.

We don’t have to tell you that healthcare today is one of the only businesses operating in America where the customer can wait 90-minutes in a practically unsanitary, unsafe, uncomfortable environment and is then expected, actually, demanded and tracked down by collection companies two to three months later to pay a lot of money for an experience, the time and the expertise that wasn’t all that caring in the first place.

“”When a Patient defines patient care these days, they describe and use phrases like ‘Sandpaper rubbing on my skin … I really don’t like my Doctor.’ Service in healthcare from staff is also a really raw topic these days too! Healthcare billing, the appeals process, billing errors, reading EOPs, incorrect addresses, wrong NPI numbers and even getting simple answers and a reply from a Doctor today is filled with so many, too many, customer-no-service moments that patients are frustrated too. And don’t even get me started on: contesting medical bills; Reading Chargemaster Spreadsheets from Hospitals by code and paying in advance of your treatment trend that seems to also be going around.” -By Michael Tetreault, Editor-in-Chief (click here for more)

Primary care medicine is the foundation of good health and wellness, and a close partnership with the individual who provides primary care, improves patients’ chances at wellness. The current healthcare system does not always emphasize wellness, and certainly does not promote individual partnership/relationships between patients and the persons who care for them. Elevated Health Direct Primary Care is different. For our family doctors in Huntington Beach, California, wellness and the care of our patients is always the number one priority.

When it comes to our membership costs, we are dedicated to providing full transparency among our pricing and medical services. Within our direct primary care model, a membership covers fees to an extensive list of possible medical treatments you may need, as well as unlimited visits with your doctor, extended visits, full access to resources via technology, a comprehensive annual physical, discounted labs (drawn on site) and physicals. This design was created with the mission of aligning our healthcare goals with yours. So that you always know what to expect from your primary care clinic.

Have questions about this direct primary care model or the specific prices for our medical services? Visit us online here or directly at hello@elevatedhealth.md

We wish you Elevated Health!