Marc Harrison of the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi gets most of it right in his article
The three A’s of a Hospital but he leaves off you need to see the same doctor, caregiver, every time to use any of the three A’s well. That is continuity of care not just continuity of your paper chart. You are so much more than a stack of papers.
The Three A’s of a Hospital
His examples leave out the most human factor which is in my view the cure for the individual and global health care crisis. Continuity of care, People, and relationships with those you choose to care for you are the cure for the global and individual Health Care Crisis and not building just your chart. If you don’t choose the people but choose the institution you will generally be treated as a widget and number instead of what you want and need which is to be treated as a known friend by the care team you choose. When you see a “new doctor”, person or caregiver they cant know you and you don’t know them. Care will always be a first time event with no future even if they have your paper chart. The chart is not you and is the most un quantified, superficial, non-human part of you which is not what you want treated.
As a persons Care needs increase with age and disability the need for knowing the individuals who YOU CHOOSE TO CARE FOR YOU is compounded as we age and need more over lapping services and as mood, depression, and emotional heath continue to be additive in our care needs.
Emotional health is rarely studied and is generally systematically excluded from all or most medical studies!!
Emotional health and feelings are next to impossible to quantify, standardize. Instead science just excludes it in the control group. Your feelings as expressed by some mathematical average when groups with hundreds of other people in your group are assumed to be the same as the feelings of the other average in the other control group. In fact, no two humans have even close to the same feelings, relationships, and lives. That is the best science can do but we all need to use science and understand what they are not providing. That is why a doctor is an artist and that is the art of medicine to balance what the studies do share with the greater amount that they do not share.
Let me share a quote from Patch. “If you treat the disease you win or loose. But if you treat the person you win no matter what the outcome.”
When you understand “you win no matter what the outcome”
You will start to understand old fashioned, relationship driven health care vs the new ceo, six sigma, A la Cart, Urgent care brand of care we are getting now and the difference from a sales claim of “we care” vs a relationship based, heartfelt caring. You choose the care team; you decide what you want in care. Especially when a loved on or yourself ages you need to build a relationship with the individual care team and care setting to start to get the care you want and need. Doctors, caregivers, and care settings are ready to help you but you have to look for them. They wont have big advertising budgets but they all offer more care at a lower price. You have to value the people, the care team and they will value you. Do not let advertising, and a hospitals saying of "the doctors are not representatives of this hospital excite you. That is saying they don’t accept any risk, responsibility for your care. That is scary. Clearly the hospital and insurance company directly impact what those doctors do no matter what the legal small print says. That is my opinion anyway.
I need you to share your opinions. Share, comment, like or you are just propagating the status quo.
Here are examples of continuity of care that you can choose right now today!
You can use these as example of what to look for in any care setting.
