Reminder: Keep it simple for outpatients
As a clinical student, I’ve been a part of dozens of outpatient clinic visits, but several days ago, I witnessed a clinic visit much unlike the others.
For one, our patient arrived not for a 20-minute appointment, but for a three-hour one. As a hemophiliac, this patient came to Stanford once a year, for a comprehensive, coordinated patient care visit, where she saw not only her hematologist but also her social worker, dietitian, nurse coordinator, physical therapist and others. I had the privilege of sitting in on this patient’s entire visit, witnessing the full spectrum of care coordination, and I found myself wondering why every clinic visit isn’t similar to this one.
For instance, I visited my own primary care physician a few weeks ago for my annual physical exam. I had forgotten to fast that day, so had to come into the clinic a separate day for a fasting lab draw (I didn’t get around to it until 10 days later). I also wasn’t sure if my insurance covered one of the shots my doctor recommended I receive, so I had to call my insurance company, check on my policy, then make — this was now the third visit — a separate appointment. And this was just a routine physical.
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Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/hamsika-chandrasekar" rel="tag" > Hamsika Chandrasekar < /a > Tags: Education Primary care Source Type: blogs
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