How to Get the Most Value From Your Healthcare Providers

We seek value in everything we do, consume, or invest in. Whether it’s buying a car, a house, the new iPhone, or debating between taking a nap or running errands, all decisions are heavily influenced by the value we place upon the outcomes and the costs associated with achieving those outcomes.  

Unfortunately, most of the time we don’t give a second thought to value when it comes to who we allow to provide our healthcare. While there are many possible reasons for this, our suspicion is that a lot of this is due to the traditionalism still found in medicine and healthcare in general. Most people find their primary care physicians and medical specialists either on the website of their nearest hospital, their insurance company’s website, or through word of mouth referral. The task of finding, scheduling, and finally attending a doctor’s appointment can be so arduous that once all is said and done the last thing we want to do is repeat the process. 

Now, imagine if we sought out healthcare in the same way that we look for a new restaurant to try. We would want to know what the prices were like, what sort of cuisine is served, the caliber of the chef, and the quality of customer service. We are here to encourage you to consider your healthcare with as much scrutiny as the location of your next date night.    

What are you getting for your time and money?

Healthcare providers are very good at giving answers and a part of that is motivated by the expectation from the general public for those with special training to be unwavering in their knowledge about a particular topic. But how do you know if the answers you’re being given are accurate? The easiest way to assess this is whether or not your provider is able to back up their claims scientifically. We aren’t necessarily advocating for your provider to bombard you with a bibliography of medical articles, but we do feel that as evidence based practitioners it is our duty to have an understanding of what the scientific literature reports as it pertains to your particular situation. Most clinicians rely primarily on their own clinical experience when it comes to treatment and patient education, but the implication of that is that your care will be subject to their own biases rather than the facts and the subsequent plan of care will be centered around the clinician rather than the patient. 

You should also walk away from your appointments with confidence. It’s important to leave treatment sessions knowing that progress is possible. While some situations do require providers to deliver some difficult news, in the context of nutrition and physical therapy, the vast majority of situations are not hopeless. If the answers and solutions you are being provided leave you with a dark cloud looming over your head we suggest that you reconsider who you are getting your care from. The process of learning about yourself, your situation, and your potential is a characteristic of quality care that we at Headquarters Physical Therapy consider a non-negotiable.  

These attributes of valuable healthcare take time. They take the commitment on the providers part to listen, understand, and respond honestly.  

The next thing to consider is whether your provider has helped you to identify objective landmarks of success. Yes, reducing the severity of your pain is important. After all, your pain is likely the main reason why you are sitting in my office to begin with. But what else is important to you that pain has impacted? What day to day activities are you avoiding? What are you afraid to do? How confident are you in regards to confronting your pain head on? What are you learning about your situation or injury and what that might mean for the future? And most importantly, how can we continue to promote a healthy lifestyle in spite of current obstacles? The most important thing to remember in this whole process is that you are a human being and not a diagnosis.  

Another indicator of a valuable healthcare experience is whether more treatment is being done to you or being participated in by you. For example, if you have an illness that requires you to take medication it is still up to you to take the medication according to the prescription. If you have a diagnosis that requires surgical intervention it is still your responsibility as a patient to adhere to post-operative protocols, understand the risks associated with surgery, and show up for the actual operation. Similarly, if you are undergoing physical therapy treatment or nutrition consultations, the plan of care should center around your active participation. While receiving passive treatment can feel great symptomatically, the results are often transient and thus disappointing if the expectation is that the outcomes are to be long-lasting. 

Lastly, the greatest indicator of value in our opinion is time spent. While, objectively, there is no ideal amount of time spent with your healthcare provider to have best outcomes, the question remains whether or not you are spending adequate time for you to find value in all of the criteria mentioned above. As insurance coverage is bound to change for the worse in 2021 and 2022 you can almost guarantee that the traditional physical therapy clinic is going to squeeze more productivity out of each therapist which will inevitably result in less time and availability per patient. 

What is the long term return for your short term investment?

We like to consider our health as an investment. Everything you do from the amount of sleep you get, the amount of water you drink, the exercise you participate in, and the food you eat is either contributing to or withdrawing from your overall health. Your interactions with your healthcare providers should be considered the same. The vast majority of us do not have unlimited amounts of time and money to spend chasing the type of care that we need to achieve the results we desire. Our hope is that the questions and considerations mentioned previously can help you determine whether or not you will get a good return on your investment. 

If you are looking for a physical therapist or a nutritionist to help you in your journey and want the most value for your time then do not hesitate to reach out to us for an initial consultation.