From two-day shipping to grocery concierge services to being able to know in real-time which traffic route is the fastest just by pulling up an app on your phone—we live in a day and age of instant gratification and convenience. But when it comes to our health, shouldn’t we expect the same expedited outcomes? The research says … we should, with a caveat.
Preventive Care
In 1736, Benjamin Franklin coined the proverb, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” summarizing the advantage of being proactive versus reactive. Even now this message holds true, particularly in the field of healthcare. With a quick search on most insurance websites today, you’ll find ample information encouraging individuals and enlisting organizations to prioritize preventive care.
Cigna.com defines preventative care as detecting and preventing serious diseases and medical problems through annual checkups, immunizations and flu shots, as well as certain tests and screenings. This is accomplished through establishing rapport with a medical practitioner who is familiar with your personal medical history and is your partner in preventative care.
Individuals who are ideal candidates for preventive care include those with pre-existing health conditions, high-risk lifestyles or family history requiring consistent medical attention. However, preventive care is recommended for all ages and stages of life. By employing preventive care measures, chronic illness, disease or injury can be circumvented or reduced; acute issues can possibly be avoided altogether.
Early Intervention
Although effective, preventive measures aren’t guaranteed to ward off issues that may arise. At the onset of illness, disease or injury, it is of paramount importance that you seek medical attention immediately. For one, outcome measures exhibit improved conditions when addressed in an expedited fashion. In doing so, this minimizes recovery time and can reduce overall healthcare costs, which include direct or indirect expenses that are incurred.
In my field of physical therapy, as an example, treatment under the care of a licensed physical therapist within 14 days of onset of pain or injury can minimize healthcare costs by up to 50 percent. Immediate treatment will additionally accelerate the recovery time for the affected individual and reduce the risk of subsequent issues arising. Moreover, preventive instruction will be provided to the individual to avoid a recurrence of pain or injury.
With this in mind, it is not unreasonable to expect desired outcomes in terms of your health and recovery. However, just as two-day shipping requires a subscription or real-time traffic updates require an app download, proactive health management requires commitment and compliance from the patient as well as his or her healthcare provider. Preventive care or early intervention in the event of a health disruption mitigates health risk, accelerates recovery and decreases medical costs — and all of these benefits are attainable as long as there is proactive action on your part.
Paul Hecker, PT, DPT, OCS, is managing partner and co-owner of Elite Integrated Therapy Centers, an independent physical, occupational and speech therapy company based out of South Carolina; and the Director of Clinical Services with Elite Therapy Solutions based out of Pennsylvania. A Furman University graduate, Paul opened Elite Integrated Therapy Centers in 2006.
