No matter how independent we seem to be, we do rely on the healthcare resources and which may be a mixed blessing; resourceful when done as an expression of self-care and disempowering when done as an exclusive dependence on the healthcare system.

Working with me, you will learn to use healthcare resources judiciously as an expression and extension of your self-healing care.

Healthcare system is very effective in respect to the acute care, emergences, trauma management, sophisticate diagnostic techniques, complex surgeries and other invasive life-saving interventions. A different picture appears in respect to chronic diseases where in spite of sophisticate conventional medicine, 6 in 10 adults in the US have a chronic disease and 4 in 10 have two or more chronic diseases. These numbers have been getting worse over the last decades and are dramatically increasing as the consequence of patients neglecting their  healthcare while in Covid-19 related social isolation.

What are the root causes of this situation?

Healthcare in the USA is preoccupied with profit and productivity. There is abundance of specialists offering sophisticate diagnostic procedures and technologically advanced interventions, all easily available without waiting to those who carry sufficient health insurance and/or have plenty of money.  This, unfortunately creates overdependence of patients on healthcare and it may generate number of expensive procedures and elective surgeries, some of which may not be necessary. Those elective, expensive procedures typically generate income for the healthcare facilities. At the other extremes are patients who underutilize healthcare because they lacking health insurance and /or sufficient money. These people delay and self-ration the use of healthcare, including prevention and eventually become sicker.

Both groups of patients contribute to the epidemics of chronic diseases. Another worrisome fact the abundance of the prescription medication (polypharmacy) particular among older individuals as 40% of the community dwelling (living in their regular environment) take 5 of more medications.  This is compounded by the fact that different medications are prescribed by different specialist and patient take nutritional supplements without discussing this with their doctors.

The current Covid-19, related pandemic and related limited access to healthcare plus chronic stress of collective trauma all these factors in addition to graying the society will create an avalanche of additional chronic diseases in near future, which will overwhelm already malfunctioned healthcare.

What does it mean to the patients? They have to learn to actively participate in their healing by discriminate, selective and targeted use the healthcare resources. The have to become the project managers of their healing teams which may include conventional and alternative doctors, none medical healers, family and community resources. They have to learn the basic about the function of their body and the action of pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals. Putting these together then will be able to partner, to debate with their care providers in order to calculate  risks /benefits and therefore choose and then reevaluate correct treatments. It means that patients have to learn to utilize healthcare resources as the means to practicing  their  own self-care.

This is where may help comes as the wellness coach and patient’s advocate. Using my in depth knowledge of pharmaceutical (15 year research in pharmaceutical industry) nutraceuticals 7 year practice of alternative medicine, practice of 3 medical specialties I help patients to become valid partner to healthcare resource. Using common knowledge, I educate in reviewing with patients their current treatments, formulate their goals and communicate them to their doctors. In well justified cases I function as patients’ advocate and spokesperson joining patients in their doctors’ and hospital visits.  I don’t suggest any direct changes in patients’ treatments and prescription, rathe I coach patient how to recognize, for their point of view, the desire for changes and how to present their care to the doctors.  When requested I may participate in patients’ visits to their doctors’.

In addition I may offer my education assistance in the palliative (the end of life) care using my experience from volunteering for Hospice and training in interdenominational  chaplaincy.

I prefer periodic inclusion of patients’ immediate family of caregivers in my coaching and education, since the real healing happens within the home environment and family /community support. I place event more attention to the circumstance of people who face chronic diseases alone