How Many Physicians Have Opted Out of the Medicare Program?

What To Know About Preventive Care

Most people think of scheduling an appointment to see a doctor when they are sick, but not everyone realizes how important it is to see a primary care provider (PCP) for preventive care even when you are feeling healthy.

A primary care provider could be:

a physician (MD or DO), or

an advanced practice clinician (APC) who is either a physician assistant (PA) or a nurse practitioner (NP).

Preventive care is important for all patients to maintain better health, and usually begins with an annual check-up. During this visit your primary care provider will:

get to know you, and learn about your health and family history;

screen for current diseases;

discuss medications and supplements you take;

check for future disease risks;

discuss recommended screenings based on your age, gender, family history, and risk factors;

update your vaccinations and immunizations;

discuss healthy lifestyle and challenges, such as diet and exercise; and

get a baseline for your health to improve care in the future.

Your provider can tell you if they think you should come more often than once a year.

Regular visits with your primary care provider create a baseline for your health so you can identify changes in your health or your body that might not be normal. Schedule an appointment right away if you experience any of the following:

A lump you can feel anywhere in your body

A cough or fever that does not go away

Unusual aches or pains that do not go away

Changes in your skin or sores that don't heal

Losing weight without trying

Changes in your stool or blood in your stool

Identifying potential diseases early on (when you first experience symptoms) can sometimes provide more options for treatment and a better outcome.

Preventive Care, Annual Physicals: What's The Big Deal?

There's a lot of talk lately about the importance of preventive care and getting your annual physical. For starters, preventive care and annual physicals play an important role in your overall health and wellness and provides you with the first line of defense against any unforeseen medical issues. Plus, preventive care is FREE under all Purdue medical plans. This includes your annual physical and other preventive screenings – such as blood pressure, type 2 diabetes screening, cholesterol and lipid level, mammogram – as well as an annual flu vaccine. For more information on preventive care, Anthem provides a list that outlines preventive care services.

Yearly physical examinations can be performed at the Center for Healthy Living on Purdue's West Lafayette campus and include well-woman, well-man and well-child checks. Both physicians and nurse practitioners can perform annual physicals and record biometrics. Employees are also able to have their physicals and biometrics completed with their community provider should they choose. Those who have yet to establish with a primary care provider are welcome to do so with a physician or nurse practitioner at the Center for Healthy Living.  Keep in mind, completing an annual physical with biometrics screening is part of the 2019 Healthy Boiler Wellness Program, and you can earn $325 simply for doing so.

And there's an important reason that the university is offering you the opportunity to get paid for taking part in these important preventive measures.  

 "It's such a proactive move for individuals to take the time to have their yearly physicals and other preventive exams performed," said Ronald Shelton, MD, medical director at the Center for Healthy Living. "Preventive services, such as physicals and biometrics, give patients and physicians alike the information needed to make the best plan of action when it comes to short- and long-term health and wellness. Early detection, if applicable, as well as identifying those who are at high risk for a disease, allows time to implement the needed lifestyle changes, preventive steps and / or treatment that is needed to provide the healthiest life possible."  

The bottom line is that getting and staying healthy is the best way to get in front of diseases that could become chronic.

According to Candace Shaffer, director of benefits in Human Resources, the goal is for all employees to get their annual physicals, either at the center or at their community provider's office.

"Annual physicals are the best way for employees to know where they stand in regards to their overall health and wellness," Shaffer said. "We want our employees to seek out preventive care and get their annual physicals in order to be the happiest and healthiest versions of themselves possible. The on-site center in West Lafayette provides convenience and great services, but we also understand that some employees have longstanding relationships with their outside providers. Many local in-network physicians are also available to support the health of our employees. Our goal is making sure employees are utilizing preventive care services wherever it makes the most sense for them. And with the Healthy Boiler Wellness Program incentives up for grabs again for 2019, it gives an added bonus to having a physical and biometrics screening performed."

The center offers many no-cost wellness options  to compliment primary care services – regardless of where that care is provided. The center works collaboratively with outside providers to ensure the best care possible for their patients. Telephonic wellness programs also are available to employees at the regional campuses as well as extension employees. To learn more, call the center at 765-494-0111.

Any questions can be directed to Human Resources at 765-494-2222, toll free at 877-725-0222 or via email at hr@purdue.Edu.

The Integrated Care Path

theatlantic.Com

Sponsor Content: What's this?

Sponsor Content The Integrated Care Path

It's a familiar path: something life-threatening happens and we rush to the hospital, where we find unfamiliar doctors and unexpected fees. Would we benefit if that care were coordinated?

Illustrations by James Oconnell

Emergency medical care is like traditional health care only moreso: The doctors are unfamiliar, the fees are unpredictable, you answer the same questions a hundred times, and nobody seems to remember the answers. In other words, care is fragmented.

But what if a patient—say, a woman in her 60s—could be smoothly guided through early, preventive medical care, avoiding what might have become a serious health crisis? What if her treatment were supplemented by home care and educational programs, and what if a steady stream of data and insights were circulated among her providers, keeping everyone in the loop?

The following is a picture of what such integrated care looks like—and all it can do to lower costs while improving the health of people and communities.

During an at-home preventive wellness exam with our theoretical patient, a woman in her 60s, a nurse practitioner identifies signs of incipient congestive heart failure (CHF). Concerned, the nurse practitioner helps her set up an appointment with her physician online.

integrated medical team

At the appointment, the physician agrees the patient is at risk for CHF, discusses how she can, with a lifestyle and treatment plan, address it to meet her goal of keeping up with her grandchildren. The doctor orders appropriate tests and refers her to a cardiologist.

integrated medical team

Before the cardiologist appointment, the whole care team reaches out to the patient. Her physician follows up with test results while the care manager ensures she has transportation and confirms her appointment time.

integrated medical team

At the appointment, the cardiologist has every provider's information on the patient in an integrated electronic medical record (EMR). The cardiologist confirms the diagnosis and recommends a care plan, adding it to her EMR and educating her about the plan. He also communicates with nurse practitioners who visit the patient in her home, giving direction on additional patient education and care goals.

integrated medical team

One week later, the patient feels short of breath and calls in her nurse practitioner, who comes to her home, provides additional medication, and advises her to visit the urgent-care clinic in the morning, recording all this in the EMR.

integrated medical team

The urgent-care team treats the patient's CHF symptoms, adjusts her treatment plan, and arranges a follow-up meeting with her cardiologist at the clinic the following morning. Since the cardiologist can access her EMR, she can be treated there rather than transferred to the hospital.

integrated medical team

At the appointment, the cardiologist makes sure the patient is doing better after her scare. The patient is walked through adjustments to her care plan, including new medication, and reminded of the healthy habits she should maintain.

integrated medical team

A few days later, the nurse practitioner visits the patient at home to see if she's feeling better and continues to educate her on her condition, keeping all team members informed by updating the EMR.

integrated medical team

The patient, based on her care team's recommendations, has been eating healthily and exercising, responsibly managing her condition through a wellness approach. In the next months, she visits a senior lifestyle center where she builds a social circle and takes wellness classes.

integrated medical team

The patient has her next visit with her primary-care physician, who notes that her condition has improved and that her preventive health-care plan is focused on helping her meet her goals: keeping her CHF under control, staying healthy, and keeping up with the grandkids.

integrated medical team

When care is integrated, with information shared seamlessly among all providers and patients assessed proactively rather than reactively, health issues can be addressed earlier and more effectively—all the more important for people with chronic or recurring conditions. When health care is physician-led, patient-centric, and informed by EMRs shared and updated rigorously by a collaborative team, health is built into your life by a collaborative team.

This is the health-care path that puts meaning in the word "care."

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