Patient-Centered Care: Beyond Standard Protocols

Your healthcare decisions deserve respect, not judgment. We've created this episode as a safe space to discuss patient autonomy and the evolving landscape of medical care where your voice truly matters.

Healthcare constantly evolves, sometimes outpacing thorough evaluation. We've witnessed the consequences when treatments are rushed to market without adequate testing, leaving patients to navigate unexpected side effects and complications. As practitioners committed to patient wellbeing, we believe in maintaining transparency about these challenges while creating space for each person to make informed decisions about their own body.

The cornerstone of our practice philosophy is simple yet revolutionary: "Your body, your rules." While we provide expert guidance based on our clinical experience and medical knowledge, we recognize you as the ultimate authority on your health journey. This partnership approach yields better outcomes because when you believe in your treatment plan, you're already positioned for success. We've seen countless patients benefit from alternative approaches that conventional medicine might have dismissed, reinforcing our commitment to remaining open-minded and continuously learning.

What alternative therapies have you tried? What treatments have you opted out of and why? We genuinely want to know. Some of our most valuable insights come from listening to patient experiences rather than textbooks. Whether you're seeking conventional care or exploring complementary approaches, we're here to support your journey without judgment.

Ready to experience truly patient-centered care? Connect with us in a private, HIPAA-compliant setting through HamiltonTelehealth.com let's transform healthcare together, one conversation at a time.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Disclaimer
• 0:58 Creating Safe Spaces for Patient Education
• 2:42 Medicine Changes: Being Open to New Data
• 3:27 Discussing Vaccination Choices Without Judgment
• 5:32 Patient Advocacy and Provider Partnership
• 7:23 Your Body, Your Rules Philosophy
• 8:26 Providers Working for Patients, Not Vice Versa
• 10:19 Encouraging Patient Feedback and Closing

Transcript

Kelli: 0:16

Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of Tattoos and Telehealth. I'm Kelli White. This is my great colleague, nicole Baldwin, and our lawyers always make us say that this video does not constitute a patient provider relationship and this is by no means considered medical advice of any kind. Now we had a very interesting situation come up this week with something that Nicole was very passionate about. So there have been a lot of things in the news lately. You guys know it's cold and flu season and that means that there is a lot of things in the news lately. You guys know it's cold and flu season and that means that there's a lot of illnesses going around, and with those illnesses comes some very controversial topics about a certain virus. We have to choose our words carefully, because those words key and trigger our videos to be taken down.

Kelli: 0:58

So we're going to talk about what we specifically do for our patients and how me and Nicole can make this a safe space for one patient education to a very open and positive learning experience, because, nicole, I don't know about you, but I'm learning every day. Like before we hit record, you and I were chatting about things that I didn't know anything about and I need to go do some research about just some stuff that comes up. So things change. Things change in medicine. It happens all the time. It's like you walk into, you walk into a store I almost said the store. You walk into a store and buy a new laptop. By the time you get to the car the laptop is outdated and you've got to go. You know what I mean. Medicine changes that fast too.

Kelli: 1:40

So I think that as providers, I certainly try to hold a space where I am open minded enough to learn from my patients as well. So I think that we have to be humble in knowing that we may or may not have endorsed or agreed with certain things where now that data is coming out, that probably wasn't the best decision. As humans, we realized that wasn't a great decision. You specifically have seen some reports where maybe certain things came out a little too quickly and now we as the public are reaping some pretty damaging effects of those decisions. And so how do we, as providers, how do we combat that? I know I try my best to hold a safe space for patients to ask all the questions. So how do you, how do you combat that? How do you say I'm not going to necessarily hold to this particular protocol just because the CDC says I have to.

Nicole: 2:42

Yeah, for sure it's called practice medicine for a reason, right, it's called practice medicine, and so we're going to speak kind of cryptically today. So hopefully so we don't get taken down, because this week I did a post about a personal thing For me. It was a post about how I did not allow my daughter to get vaccinated, choosing the childbearing age, and it got taken down. So it was just my opinion, it wasn't medical advice, it wasn't. It just says, hey, I get this question a lot, and it got taken down. So, with that being said, you have to be careful how we choose our words. But that was just a specific situation this week, and so something that Kelly and I want to talk about is it is okay to come to our practice and tell us whether you were or were not got the poke.

Kelli: 3:27

I know that it's okay. It's okay. I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other. If you did or didn't, I'm still going to take care of you. That matters not to me, it's simply just a question. So I know which way my brain needs to go when we're talking about certain symptoms.

Nicole: 3:41

A hundred percent. So it doesn't matter. To us it is really irrelevant, it is a personal decision, that's it. And there is coming out some alternative therapies and we're not going to name those. But there is alternative therapies that patients are trying and I've read success about them, and that is also a patient preference. Patients have the right to treatment. They have the right to be able to speak to their provider in a safe space where they're not going to be judged.

Nicole: 4:09

And I think, just as nurses, we come from such a place of patient advocacy. We've all been, you and I, we've both been in situations where a doctor will order something and we'll say are you sure that's what you want? Are you sure that's what you want? And if a nurse ever says to a doctor, if you're a doctor, and if a nurse ever says, are you sure that's what you want to give? That is not what you want to give, that is us saying to you no, no, no. You might want to rethink that, because you're human too, right. And so, as nurses, we are built to stand up for our patients, to advocate for our patients, and sometimes that means bucking and a doctor's order or whatever, whatever. But we are the voice for our patients, and so I think that's where probably this comes from, from you and I, kelly is that we are built to be advocates for our patients, no matter what that means, and even if it means we're going against the grain, that's okay. And I think that we, as clinicians, been doing this. Even if it means we're going against the grain, that's okay, and I think that we, as clinicians, been doing this for long enough that we're okay to go against the grain as long as it's safe and as long as patients are aware.

Nicole: 5:17

Now, we always maintain confidentiality. We always maintain that this is what's recommended, but if you go off of that, I'm not going to judge you. I can recommend you to, let's say, have as simple as a colonoscopy. It's your choice if you do it or not. I can recommend whatever, but it's your choice if you, if you do that, and I can order you labs, but it's your choice if you go do them or not. And so there is recommendations, and some of them are good and some of them were starting to rethink those right, just as a society we're rethinking, is that was the best option, and maybe it was the best option at the time. Kelly and I both provide a very safe space for patients to come and discuss alternative options that are available for different conditions. Whether it's a sinus infection, whether it's cancer, whether it's some kind of virus, no matter what it?

Nicole: 6:10

is. We're okay with you saying you know what? This is not the route I want to go, but this is what I was thinking and we're okay that I'm very patient driven. We want to make sure that we are working together the provider and the patient because you're going to be much more compliant and much more if we're not just throwing a bunch of things at you that you should do this, this, this, this and this, and if you don't, then I don't want to see you, because that's happened where if you don't have this, this or this poke, I won't see you not with me, not with Kelly. But we've heard of those situations happening and so I'm interested to see what types of alternative therapies and you guys can post in the comments, but what type of alternative therapies you thought about or you tried and had had success or not.

Kelli: 6:57

I'm curious to see some patient feedback. I'd love to see what other people have tried and what's worked for them hasn't worked for them. I tell my patients your body, your rules. I can tell you what has worked in the past and hasn't worked in the past. I can tell you anatomy. I can tell you pathophysiology of medications. I can talk to you about historically what has happened with certain situations. But at the end of the day, it is your body, your body, your rules. I can tell you smoking is bad for you, but I can't make you quit your body, your rules. And so I can tell you the repercussions of certain things. But at the end of the day, like Nicole said, we want you to be happy, healthy and want to return for care, and so that means that whatever, whatever you choose to be your treatment, we want to be sure that we're working with you as a team, because that's going to mean that you have the best outcome, because you believe in that already as your treatment of choice. So we know that that means you're already set up for positive results because you believe that that's going to work for you. So if we partner along with you on that journey, then the chances of you having success are already going to be great. And then the other part to that is this next thing that I remind my patients of when you come in for that appointment I think I've said this before, nicole.

Kelli: 8:18

Patients need to be reminded that in that moment, we work for them. They are paying me to be their provider. I work for them. In that moment, it's no different than me hiring a contractor to come in and do my plumbing. He works for me.

Kelli: 8:26

In that moment, in that moment when that patient comes in to see me, I work for them. They should have my undivided attention. I should be willing to hear what they have to say. I should be open to whatever it is that they feel is important for them. It's their situation, it's their body. They know what they've been through, and I think that that's kind of where we, as America in general, have gone wrong. Before we hit record, we were talking about how things went so wrong, because certain companies have a goal and it was a race to get to the goal by a certain time, and in doing so, I think they skipped a lot of paths that they should have taken and it created some unsafe end results. And so I think we're seeing that now. This is why Nicole and I just want to be sure that our patients, or any patient that chooses to come see us, understands that this is a safe space, and we are absolutely open to hearing what you guys have to say about that wanted to try, thought about trying.

Nicole: 9:21

What have you opted out of and why and why, tell us. The last five years has been challenging in medicine for everyone, for everyone, for every company, from the top to the bottom. It's been difficult, but we want to know. What have you tried? What have you opted in for, what have you opted out for? Sometimes patients will will say, look, this option, I've tried this alternative option because it was less risky or it's pretty much a benign whatever, and this is the more benign way to go. So tell us what.

Nicole: 10:03

I remember this is not a HIPAA compliant space, so if you're posting in the comments, just please be mindful of that. But you can say whatever you want, just be mindful that it's not a HIPAA compliant space. But what have you tried or heard about that you want to know more information about? You can always to talk to us, you can always reach out to Kelly or I and we're very interested. So it's very short today. We're just very interested in getting more information to see what is out there. What are patients truly, truly opting in and out for?

Kelli: 10:32

Yeah, I learn more, I think, from my patients sometimes than I do in other ways. It's a very therapeutic relationship I get from them. It's awesome.

Nicole: 10:40

It is.

Kelli: 10:41

I'm like let me get a pen. You did what and that? Well, hold on. I need to try that.

Nicole: 10:46

Yeah, sure, so anyway, if you would like to speak with us personally under a compliance space, you can find me at HamiltonTelehealthcom and you can find Kelly at. Barihealthcom, c-h-a-r-i-healthcom, and we'll be happy to see you. We'll be happy to see you, happy to take care of you. Reach out to us. We're happy to hear from you. Bye guys, bye.