One thing that I love about Oasis is that we carry over the counter medication and supplies. Despite popular belief, having your health provider write a prescription is not the answer to every physical ailment you may have. In fact, writing antibiotic prescriptions for things caused by viruses (like the cold and flu) has the potential to create huge national health problems. President Obama has recently invested $1.2 billion to combat this issue (Korte, 2015).
Medical providers are aware that prescribing unnecessary medication is poor medial practice, and may even be unethical, but they still face a huge problem: patient trust/satisfaction.
From the patient perspective, especially one who has not been exposed to many health environments, I can empathize with that dissatisfaction. Let's face it: the patient is concerned about something or they feel sick. So, they schedule an appointment with the idea that a health care prover can make them better: an appointment that is most likely going to cost them something (at least a co-pay or a sick day at work). Then, when the care provider does a work-up, makes a diagnosis, and responds with a "Sorry, there is nothing I can do for you" and maybe a "Let your body repair itself" or a "Let the illness run its course", the patient experiences quite a let down.
Which is, back to my original point: I love having an abundance of over the counter medications, vitamins, lotions, and braces available to us at Oasis.
That way, when providers return to the exam room with some Ibuprofen to manage the aches and pains of the flu, or some lotion to massage what ended up being only a bruise, I believe the patient feels as if their needs are better met than if they were just told there wasn't a lot we could do. Plus, the mind is a powerful tool. Placebo anyone?
About a week ago, we even had a patient who had fallen down some stairs and appeared to have damaged the nerves in her feet. Molly Paulson, PA-C, had prescribed her Gabapentin (Neurontin), for the immediate nerve pain, and a Vitamin B complex that, if taken over time, could promote nerve health and healing.
Two weeks later, the patient returned for her follow-up appointment to inform us that she was better: the pain was gone. Molly was contented, the Neruontin worked!
Wrong.
From the patient perspective, especially one who has not been exposed to many health environments, I can empathize with that dissatisfaction. Let's face it: the patient is concerned about something or they feel sick. So, they schedule an appointment with the idea that a health care prover can make them better: an appointment that is most likely going to cost them something (at least a co-pay or a sick day at work). Then, when the care provider does a work-up, makes a diagnosis, and responds with a "Sorry, there is nothing I can do for you" and maybe a "Let your body repair itself" or a "Let the illness run its course", the patient experiences quite a let down.
Which is, back to my original point: I love having an abundance of over the counter medications, vitamins, lotions, and braces available to us at Oasis.
That way, when providers return to the exam room with some Ibuprofen to manage the aches and pains of the flu, or some lotion to massage what ended up being only a bruise, I believe the patient feels as if their needs are better met than if they were just told there wasn't a lot we could do. Plus, the mind is a powerful tool. Placebo anyone?
About a week ago, we even had a patient who had fallen down some stairs and appeared to have damaged the nerves in her feet. Molly Paulson, PA-C, had prescribed her Gabapentin (Neurontin), for the immediate nerve pain, and a Vitamin B complex that, if taken over time, could promote nerve health and healing.
Two weeks later, the patient returned for her follow-up appointment to inform us that she was better: the pain was gone. Molly was contented, the Neruontin worked!
Wrong.
The patient was anxious about taking medications, but was comfortable with the idea of taking vitamins and supplements. So she only took the Vitamin B complex and, within a few days, no longer experienced any pain.
I prefaced this patient story by talking about the power of the mind, and rightly so. Vitamins have the potential to promote nerve healing, but there is no evidence to suggest that nerves have the ability to heal within such a short time frame. There is also zero evidence to suggest that vitamins provide pain relief (unless the pain was the result of a deficiency -- which was not the case here). However...
I prefaced this patient story by talking about the power of the mind, and rightly so. Vitamins have the potential to promote nerve healing, but there is no evidence to suggest that nerves have the ability to heal within such a short time frame. There is also zero evidence to suggest that vitamins provide pain relief (unless the pain was the result of a deficiency -- which was not the case here). However...
The patient felt better.
What more could we ask for?
By doing/providing small things amid your face-time with patients, you can give the impression that their needs are being more adequately met, which could lead to better perceived outcomes.
Korte, 2015 via USA TODAY : http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/27/obama-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-action-plan/70536576/
Korte, 2015 via USA TODAY : http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/27/obama-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-action-plan/70536576/