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🩺 How a Little Extra Time Can Save a Life
One of the greatest gifts of ConnectCare MD is time. Time to truly get to know my clients before we ever walk into an exam room. Our conversations are rarely just about the reason for today's appointment. We talk about grandchildren, vacations, hobbies, everyday challenges, and how things are going for them and the family members who care about them.
These conversations often begin by telling me (and their doctor) that they're "fine."
Sometimes they are. Sometimes they aren't.
Recently, I met a new client in the waiting room before a follow-up specialist appointment. She told me she was feeling well and that the visit was simply a follow-up for a recent fall. She was looking forward to moving on with her life without activity restrictions.
As we chatted, she casually mentioned that one of her legs had recently become painful. Then swollen. She thought it might be related to the fall many weeks ago, and we agreed to mention this to the doctor.
But when we got into see the doctor, the conversation centered around the healing injuries and she forgot to mention the new problem.
As her advocate, I encouraged her to mention the new leg symptoms. The specialist acknowledged the new symptoms, but because he felt they were unrelated to the fall and his area of expertise, her concerns were dismissed.
In today's healthcare system, physicians are often asked to focus on one specific problem at a time. This visit was no different.
They say you can take the doctor out of ED, but you can't take the ED out of the doctor. My years in practice immediately made me concerned about a possible blood clot, something that requires prompt diagnosis because it can become life threatening if left untreated.
On the way out the door, I contacted the local emergency department to let them know she was on her way and shared my concerns.
The emergency department confirmed the diagnosis, treatment was begun and she went home. I also called her primary care physician who worked in a different healthcare system, and later reached out to the specialist to make sure they too were in the know. ConnectCare MD was there every step of the way, bridging communication between multiple physicians in different healthcare systems, ensuring everyone had the information they needed to provide coordinated care so my patient could just focus on getting better.
A potentially devastating outcome was prevented, and today she is doing well.
Stories like this remind me why I created ConnectCare MD. My role is not to replace your physicians. It is to bring the pieces together, recognize what may otherwise be overlooked, communicate across the healthcare system, and ensure that no one has to navigate today's complicated medical world alone. |
