One in four living in the state of Texas – about 6.2 million people - are uninsured. It is ranked the lowest in the United States in health care. Governor-supported tort reform in the state didn’t impact health care costs one bit. Oh, and there’s no longer a state Medicaid women’s health program either.
You would like to think that those are the headlines from some third-world nation. However, according to Governor Rick Perry, Texas is doing just fine, thank you very much – so much so that he’s told the federal government that he won’t implement the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act.
Governor Perry, in his desire to constantly remind us why he’s “Fed Up”, is slowly and steadily painting the health care of this state into a corner.
When it comes to health care, is this the state of Texas, or the state of Confusion?
Effective communication is a real challenge in our daily lives. When interactions occur between two people, they are subjected to the beliefs, values, and perceptions of each other. These will be manifested in their communication, their behaviors, and their actions.
The cornerstone of problem solving in health care is effective communication. Patients want their story to be heard and to be understood. The clinician is dependent upon communication in order to accumulate data, understand the patient’s problem, and subsequently develop solutions to their problem. This is no easy task.
Our ability to communicate effectively is critical to success in health care. Here are seven tips for improving communication with patients – or anyone else for that matter!
One patient. One clinician. One treatment room.
It should be pretty straightforward, right? Ask the right questions, get the appropriate answers, make some astute observations, add a little clinical reasoning, and get the patient moving towards a solution to their problem.
But once the patient and clinician step into that treatment room, worlds collide. It starts with what is going on in our heads before we ask or answer any questions. When two diverse self images collide in the treatment room, anything can happen, and oftentimes it does.
Thursday’s landmark decision by the Supreme Court regarding the Affordable Care Act became not only an important day in this country’s health care history, but also a blockbuster day for political diatribe, fear-mongering, irresponsibility, and downright stupidity.
When the real data emerges, and it will, we will look to this day much like the days when Medicare and Social Security were introduced. But I understand that anytime people are faced with something new, it can generate a little fear of the unknown.
It has become readily apparent to me that legislators have chosen, repeatedly, to ignore the data and the evidence. They have chosen to disregard responsibility, especially in their words to constituents. They have chosen to ignore their accountability to voters.
But they have not forgotten how to spin, spin, spin the agenda. They have chosen to listen to the doctors – the spin doctors – the “spinions” who have not forgotten how to create fear and uncertainty in the eyes of the average American.
This is the 19th in a series of RunSmart videos. The series is on-going, with a new video released on a biweekly basis. These videos complement the material presented in the book “RunSmart: A Comprehensive Approach To Injury-Free Running”. The full series of videos can be found here. A compilation of the first 10 videos will be available on Vimeo as well.
For those of you that are interested in a more interactive learning environment, consider attending a Level One (half day), Level Two (one day), or Level Three (two day) RunSmart program. The Level One program is 4 hours and focuses on basic training principles, running mechanics, and injury prevention. The Level Two program is 8.5 hours and focuses on performance optimization and training program development. The Level Three program is a two day, 15 hour program that includes a comprehensive approach to running injuries. The next Level Three program will be offered in Austin, Texas on August 17 - 18, 2012.
In this video, I discuss another pillar of RunSmart: recovery. Your training is only as good as your ability to recover from your training sessions and adapt to them.
Research studies are done in order to provide evidence to either confirm or refute theories or best practices. But a rather significant question comes to light. Why bother doing them in the first place if we don’t want to hear the results and are not going to utilize those results if they are counter to our beliefs or agendas?
It would appear that political agendas are winning out over evidence more and more these days. Case in point: tort reform in Texas.
The consumer has repeatedly been told that tort reform will help to decrease health care costs – or something along similar lines. Now, we have yet another study that reveals that no, actually, it doesn’t.
Score: Evidence – 0, Political Agenda – 1. The loser? The consumer, of course.
Why is it that when an athlete provides us with a great performance, the first response is almost always cynical. “He/she must be juiced” tends to be the first statement uttered by many. It is a sad reflection on our culture when that is the first belief espoused.
You know what? I am fed up with the cynicism. Frankly, the whole “performance-enhancing drugs” schtick needs to stop.
At one time, it was believed that a human would not break four minutes for the mile, or 10 seconds for the 100 meters. While we’re at it, how about the 2 hour marathon barrier?
But a funny thing happened along the way. Many of these barriers have been broken – repeatedly. And drugs are not even a part of the equation.
Up to 60% of runners will sustain an injury within any given year. Poor running mechanics, in conjunction with poor, ineffective and outdated training methods, can pose a significant injury risk. "RunSmart" was written to address these issues in the running community.
"Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the third edition and fourth editions of "Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Team Approach" by Charles Giangarra, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.
Top 5 finalist in three categories: "Best Overall Blog", "Best PT Blog" and "Best Advocacy Blog".
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