Continuity of Care

What does this title mean exactly?

In reality it can mean different things to different people, but to us in the health industry it means a well planned out strategy for our clients between all providers for that client. Example: A man is being treated by his primary care provider for pain in his feet, which turns out to be a painful condition called neuropathy. The patient is referred to a neurologist, a specialist in neurology to help treat the condition, and they prescribe an array of medications to help the condition.

The patient also gets depressed as a result of his condition, and so he is prescribed an anti depressant to help take the edge off of his depression. His blood work comes back out of whack and he is referred to an oncologist for a workup. The blood work confirms stage 2 leukemia and more meds are forthcoming.

The problem is that not all of these doctors talk to one another for a variety of reason including HIPPA restrictions as well as being independently overloaded in their respective practices. So that is where we come in at the non-medical level when we are brought in as a support mechanism for the patient. Our social worker can look at the med list and see if there are any potentially competing medications and if so they can suggest to the patient that he can talk to his primary care physician about a continuity of care plan. This way the medications dont compete, they complement each other, thus increasing their effectiveness. A win win for all concerned! If we can help you here in the greater Phoenix area please visit our website.

www.azperfectcompanion.com