This week, Mary Tilak MD, MBA, celebrated Senior Night for the Munster High School Boys Tennis as one of the proud parents. There, she was reminded of the need for patient-centered care in our community.
Among her conversations with parents, teachers and coaches, one couple spoke with her about the importance of value-based care: shifting the focus from "sick care" to "well care." It's a model that emphasizes preventive care and risk management to achieve better health outcomes, and it's the philosophy behind our work with patients across Northwest Indiana.
"It was palpable that our community needs dedicated patient- and community-centered healthcare," Dr. Tilak said. "That's what my commitment to our community has been and will continue to be."
But success in value-based care depends not just on patient-focused support from a robust primary care team, but also on nurturing strong relationships with patients and the communities a primary care practice serves. As an industry, it’s clear that there is much work to be done to build patient trust.
A U.S. News & World Report found:
- 32% of people say they can’t fit a primary care appointment into their schedule.
- 25% say they don’t like going to a doctor, and 10% say they’ve felt shamed by doctors in the past.
- More than one out of 10 don’t plan to have an annual physical this year.
We need to educate people in our communities on the importance of a robust “primary care quarterback” relationship both to drive a preventative strategy for their healthcare, but also to navigate the complex healthcare landscape and create value by spearheading a shared decision among physicians of varied skills and experience in a patient-centered manner.
Only your educated, well-informed primary care doctor can ask the questions needed to be asked to drive this patient-centered, shared decision. A shift to value-based care transformation needs to start by empowering primary care.
How is your practice working to deepen relationships with patients and the communities you serve? And, how does technology play a role in your delivery of patient-centered care? Let’s start a conversation …
#healthcare #healthtech #primarycare #value #chronicdisease #internalmedicine
School Town of Munster
Helping healthcare organizations attack their growth and improvement initiatives with certainty
1moThis is such a great learning method. My husband is a physician who has delivered babies for about 40 years .... and when he goes in the SIM lab with nursing students and staff, he is amazed by how real and impactful these simulations are, especially for low volume high risk scenarios.