Proactive Care… For The Health Of It
Today, healthcare trends are giving patients more choices and ways to manage and direct their care actively. A pa- tient that sees the provider relationship as a partnership will have more trust and is open to sharing in the management of their care. With this added confidence, patients have a higher receptivity to suggestions of lifestyle changes that improve their overall health.
With reactive medicine in decline, healthcare is finally moving in the right direction. Patients have grown accus- tomed to the convenience and flexibility that patient-centric care offers. Here are several examples of what successful patient centered care looks like.

• Scheduling Appointments: Today, sophisticated call center scheduling applications put patients in the driver’s seat by allowing them to select the most convenient appointment date and time that fits their schedule. With the aver- age appointment window in the US for a traditional office visit hovering around three weeks, companies providing in-home care and telemedicine have reduced their response time to three days or less. In addition, the scheduling ad- vantages include eliminating office wait times, travel time, transportation logistics, and caregivers no longer needing to worry about lost production at work.
• Technology: The proliferation of advanced medical devices developed for in-home use is significant and allows healthcare companies to expand their reach concerning proactive patient care. Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is used extensively to prevent more severe complications.
  between regular healthcare access and reducing hospital- izations. In addition to in-home primary care, healthcare companies committed to a proactive model are integrat- ing specialty services into their practices to offer patients a complete care solution. This team approach to patient care encourages better communication and collaboration between the team members and continues to provide the convenience of in-home care through telemedicine. Pharmacy: Medication non-adherence is a leading cause of preventable hospitalizations in the US. A pharmacist plays a critical role in medication management, and any proactive patient solution should include a pharmacist con- sult. These consults assess a patient’s current medications and their appropriateness related to the condition. The as- sessments also look for unnecessary or redundant medi- cines that might be eliminated. For those who struggle to keep up with their medications at home, there have been tremendous advances in in-home dispensing technology that provides accurate automatic dispensing and allows caregivers to monitor those activities remotely.
  Portal: A patient portal is a secure digital location where healthcare records, lab results, billing information, ap- pointments, and communication links to the provider can be found. A portal is an integral part of a proactive model where data is made available to the patient and any desig- nated caregivers. The portal is an excellent example of a patient-centric application that allows patients to control their medical information.
  Proactive patient-centric care requires a partnership be- tween the provider and patient that seeks better outcomes through education and patient involvement in their care. Technology and mobile services have given companies a pathway forward to transform healthcare delivery into a tru- ly proactive solution.
  Find a provider that meets your healthcare goals and puts YOU the patient first for a healthier lifestyle.