HELLO BODY, NICE TO MEET YOU!
It’s time that we know our OWN bodies!
Trust. Our healthcare system is based on the framework of trust. Patients trust their doctors to keep them healthy. Doctors trust their patients to disclose important health information. Doctors trust their co-workers to withhold their patient’s privacy and keep their patient’s wishes a priority. Trust is critical, and it should be! Healthcare is about relationships and with any good relationship, there is trust. It is a privilege to be a physician, or any health professional for that matter. Professionals of health are complete strangers, and yet are given the responsibility and honour to the complete disclosure of a patient’s life; the dirty little secrets as well as the amazing moments! This may come across as blunt, but I think the healthcare system is lucky to still have the trust of the general population. I pray, as a future health professional, that this trust can be kept, and I hope to help the system deserve this trust.
So, why don’t I trust the healthcare system? Well for starters, I am a Canadian medical student who is in the hospital on a regular basis, and yet I feel as though I am not in touch with my own health! I know that I have a BMI of 26, and I checked my blood pressure a week ago in the drug store, but can’t remember what it is. I know that I should exercise more and eat less. I also know that I am allergic to penicillin and sulphamethoxazole antibiotics. There you have it, my complete health knowledge!
I want more, and about 6 months ago I tried to get it. I visited my local family doctor for a check up. I hadn’t been to see him in over five years! The appointment lasted 10 minutes and composed of a blood pressure, body weight, three questions on smoking, drugs and alcohol, and a quick scrotal exam that came back negative (thank god!). That was it! I don’t know that much about medicine yet, but I do know that there are a lot more things to check then that! But I left there with trust, the trust that my doctor was taking care of me. Looking back, I wish my Doctor had spent more time and taught me more about my body. I don’t blame him for only taking a few minutes on me; I’m a healthy guy who has a ‘type-A’ personality, he had a full schedule of patients ahead and he needs to make a living. I just hope he is taking care of me, because I am not ‘allowed’ to see my own medical record, and I don’t know much about whats going on in my body.
I have recently been tempted by the local Copeman Healthcare Centre. This private practice clinic has been quite successful. They provide full disclosure and transparency of your health information and give you a copy of your entire medical record on a thumb drive. They also conduct a comprehensive health assessment (CHA), which “is comprised of an extensive panel of tests and physical examinations, as well as detailed questionnaires to properly assess your [patient’s] health status - and your [patient’s] health risk.”
The tests conducted as part of the CHA take a full day to complete, and include vital signs (blood pressure, ECG, body temperature, pulse oximetry, and heart rate), an extensive panel of lab blood tests, a dietician and kinesiologist assessment, a comprehensive psychological health assessment, and even integrated personal training. They follow up with patients, after the initial CHA, on a yearly basis. This gives the patient a complete assessment on their health status. The patient is instructed on what all of the information means and is given the complete record of information as a digital file (the thumb drive). The file not only contains the raw data but also statistical analyses so that they can compare themselves to averages for their demographics in the general public. There is also a constant line of communication, where the patient can message their doctor and ask questions.
I am not endorsing Copeman (Copeman never handed me a nice, thick envelope of cash, which would have been nice), but I am very impressed with their direction of practice. They are attempting to combat the large, convoluted, and confusing world of healthcare. It has always been strange to me that one of the major services that is covered by tax paying dollars is an area that the public knows very little about. This clinic is changing that and placing their patient’s as the managers to their own healthcare.
Copeman is expensive, however, and I am morally against paying out of pocket for services that should be covered within the coverage of taxation dollars. Canada has a universal healthcare system that covers health expenses through taxation. If someone is sick, the hospital and clinic doors are wide open and most monetary transactions do not take place inside those doors. But the system does not seem to be ‘universal’ if Copeman-type clinics are becoming successful.
To me the services provided by Copeman are the services that family practice clinics need to start covering. At certain stages in a patient’s life, family doctors should see their patients for a day-long CHA. The patients should be there for the doctors to monitor and conduct testing, and these tests should be used to understand the current state of the patient’s health, and to assist in preventing serious illness in the future. It would also give the Doctor a chance to really get to know their patients; increasing the quality of the relationship. Do not get me wrong, I don’t expect to see a system conduct yearly CHAs lasting full work days; this would be unrealistic! I am suggesting that these comprehensive day-long assessments should happen approximately once every five years.
In-between these CHAs would be where the gadgets, I talked about a few weeks ago, come in to play. Follow-ups should only occur when there is a serious problem, such as a bacterial infection or traumatic injury. The time in-between the major CHAs should be monitored remotely using technology. We all have cell-phones, and these mini computers are powerful! It is not beyond the realms of technology to remotely connect health monitoring gadgets to a patient’s electronic medical record (EMR) via their cell phone, and share this information in real time with their Doctors. If the data being collected starts revealing worrisome information, the Doctor (or other health professionals) could contact the patient (or vice-versa). This way, the patient can follow their own health and the Doctor is tracking their patient’s data consistently.
I am suggesting these changes to the current healthcare system because I think this is the best way to conduct preventative healthcare. As a society, we need to identify the best ways to utilize our healthcare dollars to keep people healthy. I don’t think the current way is working very well. It’s time for a change and technology is going to assist with this change!
To read more on medicine, technology, and the future of both, visit my blog @ williamparker.ca
