What is a model practice in family healthcare?
Model practice in family healthcare is a standard general physician infirmary with an expanded medical team, where graduate nurse is monitoring the patients besides the physician and junior nurse. The graduate nurse will be in charge of monitoring certain parameters for chronic diseases and prevention activities.
My physician runs a model practice. What does it imply for me as a patient?
At model practice, a graduate nurse will consult the patient about prevention activities, if necessary. The nurse will fill out disease prevention questionnaires to verify the possibilities for certain diseases, which will later be confirmed by the doctor, or determine that you are healthy. Based on results, the nurse will provide advice on different risk factors, such as alcohol, smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol, depression, and on managing a chronic disease. This means that you will receive regular screening for different chronic disease and risk factors, including health education.
If you are a patient with a managed chronic disease, such as asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, arterial hypertension or diabetes, your status will be monitored by the graduate nurse. Later, when protocols are in place, the graduate nurse will also monitor patients with heart disease, benign enlarged prostate, osteoporosis and depression. Your physician will still examine you in case of degraded health condition and prescribe required therapy. Because graduate nurse will take over part of treatment, your physician will have more time for examination and consultation, when you are ill and when your health degrades.
How can I apply to model practice in family healthcare?
Physicians, who chose to become model practice physician and were confirmed, already have their patients, who are automatically included into the new treatment method. If your physician has a model practice, he/she will appoint you to the graduate nurse or the nurse will invite you to attend preventive examination.