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The Value of Working with IAFPWorking with IAFP is the best route to impacting patient care through education, prevention and wellness. Family physicians are in the unique position to build relationships and trust with a patient, and even an entire family of patients. With this ongoing relationship, they can not only treat an acute problem, but work long‐term on improving chronic conditions, addressing gaps in prevention and wellness, and also recognize warning signs that may go unnoticed in other singular encounters with the health care system. Health care is not online banking or booking travel. It takes the right questions, careful listening, and extra perception to truly provide patient‐centered and effective care. There aren’t checkboxes for all aspects of high quality care. Families trust their family physician Immunizations: We are helping to keep Illinois safe through our trusted relationships with families in discussing the importance and value of vaccines. This dedication to maximizing vaccination rates also helps with population immunity and protects everyone from vaccine preventable illnesses. Facing pain and opioid addiction. Pain is one of the oldest challenges for medicine. Family physicians find themselves at the crux of the issue, balancing care of people who have chronic pain with the challenges of managing opioid misuse and abuse. Effective pain management and care of patients with substance use disorders require patient-centeredness and compassion, which are hallmarks of family medicine. Link to AAFP position paper.
Concussion management: Kids aren't going to the emergency room when they have a concussion, with parents opting to take them to the family doctor instead. A new study looked into where children first get care for a concussion. It found that many went to their family doctor first. Younger children and youths insured by Medicaid were more likely to go to the emergency room, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, which published the study. Behavioral Health Integration: Family medicine practices are innovators in sharing medical and behavioral health under the same roof with a team‐based care model. Primary care practices can play an increasingly important role in helping patients address their mental health issues by integrating mental and behavioral health care. Using this approach, primary care teams and behavioral health specialists work side‐ by‐side, sharing patient medical records, treatment plans and overall care management, together in one place. RELATIONSHIPS: These are actual quotes from Illinois patients about their family physician Care across generations
Seeing the whole patient, not a disease or organ
Caring through Coordination and Communication
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