General Practitioner Shortage, Patient Advocates Add Value
I’m often asked what’s the best thing someone can do for their health and the answer is simple – get an annual checkup with your physician. If you’ve gotten your car’s oil changed or been to at least two annual parties more recently than seeing your doctor, it’s probably time to make an appointment so they can kick the tires (so to speak). But the current and increasing shortage of general practitioners (GP) in the US, is problematic for patients in accessing or establishing care.
Conclusive evidence has shown that early detection of medical conditions lead to improved outcomes. A GP is the first stop in your healthcare journey and you should see one annually, even when you don’t have symptoms, just for a checkup. They can also help you with an advanced medical directive which I write about in this post. They’re the entrance into the medical system because they’re well equipped to manage most medical conditions that come up in your annual exam. It’s considered preventative care which is often covered for free by your health insurance – Yes, I have a previous post about health insurance and choosing the appropriate level of coverage here) because they help to avoid future complications that could result in going to the ER, expensive hospitalizations, or worse. In the event that your condition is beyond their scope of practice, they may then refer you to a specialist who received advanced training. Most health insurance companies require you to have a referral from your GP in order for you to see a specialist though there are some exceptions (OB-GYN and dermatologists for example). For these reasons alone, you might be thinking that it’s a no-brainer to see a GP for a physical but unfortunately there might be some challenges.
The average wait time to see a GP is 26 days in the US and that number is expected to rise given The American Association of Medical Colleges anticipates a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2025, and nearly 44,000 of those will be GPs. As it stands, GPs are significantly overworked and there’s an incongruence between the care they’re trained to give and overbooked clinic slots. A University of Chicago Medicine study reported that it would take 26.7 hours a day for a GP to see an average caseload. It’s problematic that GPs are averaging just 18 minutes with a patient because it may not be sufficient time to discuss all of your medical needs. Thankfully, Tikkun Patient Advocates can help fill in the gaps and alleviate some of your medical burdens.
Tikkun Patient Advocates walks with you down your medical path and does this in multiple phases. First, we facilitate making the appointment with your doctor and work with you to formulate your questions or concerns so you’re maximizing the limited time you have. After the appointment, we help make sense of what the doctor said and if there’s a diagnosis, we ensure that you understand it and what the next steps are. This could include helping you navigate the confusing medical system, further testing, and seeing various medical specialists. Lastly, we help with adherence (the medical term for making sure you’re following your doctor's instructions) but doing so in a compassionate and empathetic manner that never loses sight that you are not defined by your condition. As your advocate, we want to know who you are and what you’re about so we can incorporate those facets of your life into your treatment plan. That’s why at Tikkun Patient Advocates, we believe healing begins with understanding.