Why did you open Integrative Medicine of Cherry Creek? There are many reasons. Foremost is that I want to ensure my practice better serves both your needs, as well as my own. Unfortunately our current medical system does not place a high priority on patients’ health or physicians' satisfaction. Those values have been pushed aside and simply, I have made a priority to bring them back. There are two primary themes at Integrative Medicine of Cherry Creek. First is extraordinary patient care. Second is ease of access. Extraordinary patient care occurs when you and I form a good partnership. In that partnership we look at you as a person, not just diseases and test results. We focus on wellness and keeping you healthy as opposed to just treating you when you get sick. We figure out ways to implement healthy behaviors and prevent you from getting sick. We discuss all treatments available, not just those dictated by insurance companies. To achieve ease of access for patients, Integrative Medicine of Cherry Creek has forged new ground. I will change from the outdated ways patients interact with their doctor’s office. In my new practice, I will utilize simplicity and technology, ensuring readily available, direct communication with me, your physician. I have built Integrative Medicine of Cherry Creek upon the model put forth by Ideal Medical Practices (www.impcenter.org). This organization began when L. Gordon Moore, MD, a physician in Rochester, NY took it upon himself to create a practice that met both his needs and those of his patients (see article regarding his beginnings). Since that time the non-profit organization IdealMedicalPractices has provided a forum for hundreds of clinicians to transform their practices and incorporate defined goals. The goals of IdealMedicalPractices are what I strive for at Integrative Medicine of Cherry Creek.
What is Patient-Centered Care? / Why don’t you just tell me what to do? Patient-Centered Care has many definitions, though I liked the following one as articulated by The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (www.ihi.org). Care that is truly patient-centered considers patients’ cultural traditions, their personal preferences and values, their family situations, and their lifestyles. It makes the patient and their loved ones an integral part of the care team who collaborate with health care professionals in making clinical decisions. Patient-centered care puts responsibility for important aspects of self-care and monitoring in patients’ hands — along with the tools and support they need to carry out that responsibility. Patient-centered care ensures that transitions between providers, departments, and health care settings are respectful, coordinated, and efficient. When care is patient centered, unneeded and unwanted services can be reduced. I believe strongly that you should have the primary role in making health care decisions. As a physician, it is my responsibility to give you the information you need to help make those decisions. Getting you that information involves ensuring you have sufficient time with and access to me. Rarely, I will tell you, “You have to do this.” I will most often present options, explain the pros and cons of each, and solicit feedback from you so that you can make the best decision for yourself. Are you abandoning traditional medicine? What is the extra fee and why are you charging it? In our current system, physicians receive payment only when a patient is seen in the office. Additionally, that payment is dictated solely by Medicare and the private insurance companies, without any regard to what physicians or patients feel the services are worth. Despite rising operating costs, physician payments have remained flat or have gone down over time, especially for those of us in primary care. In this setting, the only way to manage the rising costs and continue to keep the doors open is to see more patients each day. In my opinion, this leads to fragmented, inadequate care. Office visits become shorter and wait times longer. Patients have to see physician assistants or nurse practitioners instead of their personal doctor. Questions and concerns of patients are filtered through staff and there is no direct correspondence between patient and doctor. I refuse to practice medicine this way. In order to provide the personalized service you deserve, I have instituted features to improve accessibility and communication:
This high level of service, convenience and accessibility is not covered or reimbursed by insurance companies. Thus, there will be an Annual Non-covered Benefits Fee to all patients. This charge covers all services performed outside of office visits that are NOT covered by your insurance company. This Annual Non-covered Benefits Fee will not be reimbursed by your health plan, although you may be able to use funds from a Medical Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account to pay for it. The Annual Non-covered Benefits Fee will be charged per patient. The fee will be waved for patients aged 24 or younger as of January 1, 2011 (born 1/1/1986 or later). The 2011 fee is $300. The fee may also be paid monthly at a rate of $30 for 12 payments. I know that this is a change in the way you have experienced paying for your medical care. This fee is my attempt to find a better way to provide the personal care you deserve. I appreciate times are challenging financially for many people and any additional charges may seem daunting. Please consider that the less than a dollar per day fee provides access to high-quality medical care. Compare this to what you pay each month for cable, cell phone, internet, the trip to the coffee shop, or other luxuries. I also hope this fee will compel patients to consider what they truly want from their doctor's office and decide whether this is the right practice for them. I don’t use the doctor much; why should I pay the fee? Some patients may feel they will not utilize these non-covered benefits and thus shouldn’t be charged. It is true that different patients use my services in varying amounts. However, by charging this fee I am ensuring I will always be accessible and give you the time you need, when you need it. For those that don’t use my services regularly, the fee ensures that you will be part of a practice that is dedicated to your health and wellness and will be there for you when needed. I hope some of you that don’t use the office much will take advantage of the services I am offering. You may have had questions and concerns arise but choose not to act on them because of the difficulty in getting an appointment or the hurdles to ask me questions. As a patient at Integrative Medicine of Cherry Creek, these obstacles are eliminated. I hope this ease of access will help you take a more proactive role in your heath and educate yourself about prevention and wellness. At Integrative Medicine of Cherry Creek, I want you to always have highly personalized service. By eliminating staff, I ensure all your interactions with the office will always be with me. This direct access to me eliminates barriers commonly found in other medical offices; issues and questions can now be handled more accurately and efficiently. Additionally, by limiting the expense of having staff, I need to see fewer patients to keep the doors open; thus, I have more time to spend with you at office visits or responding to concerns when you are not in the office. There will now be multiple ways to handle the duties previously done by staff. You should now do most tasks via email or my website including scheduling appointments, requesting refills and referrals, paying bills, and communicating with me. This system allows you to handle issues on your time schedule, rather than during a fixed set of office hours. My office structure definitely places more responsibility on you. There are two main reasons I have done this. Foremost is that I feel when you take a proactive role in your health care, you become better educated, make better and more confident decisions, and achieve a greater level of personal health and satisfaction. Secondly, when you take on tasks commonly done by staff, it means I have more time to spend directly with you dealing with your health and wellness concerns. |
| Last Updated on Thursday, 07 October 2010 14:52 |
360 South Monroe Street
Suite #150
Denver, CO 80209
