Introduction
Patients need to consult healthcare specialists to improve their knowledge about various medical issues they are facing and how they can resolve them. Primary care physicians and medical consultants need to share information to ensure patients receive high-quality care. The Shift Outpatient Model encourages healthcare professionals to communicate and share ideas on various issues facing patients in a healthcare setting. This paper will discuss the impacts of that model on healthcare provision in Ontario, Canada.
The paper focuses on the analysis of the article that researches the model’s application in healthcare systems, which reduces costs incurred by patients (p. 826). Additionally, the model allows physicians and consultants to register positive results because they rely on evidence-based solutions to make important decisions. Thus, they are able to conduct proper diagnosis, and as a result, they give patients accurate medical advice. More importantly, the model allows both the physicians and the specialist consultants to agree on suitable treatment interventions that need to be administered. This approach encourages health experts to use their skills effectively to ensure that patients get high-quality healthcare.
Summary
Frost, Toubassi, and Detsky (2012) examine relationships between primary care physicians and other specialist consultants in Canadian healthcare settings (p. 825). Their article reveals that consultation processes are poorly designed in many healthcare settings within Ontario, and as a result, the patients are denied quality care. Primary care physicians and specialist consultants do not collaborate with each other, and this makes it difficult for them to perform clinical procedures correctly. Moreover, healthcare professionals’ failure to share information may result in patients getting irrelevant medical advice from consultants. This leads to negative health outcomes, which may be detrimental to patients’ wellbeing in the long run. Additionally, consultants’ inability to collaborate with other physicians denies them an opportunity to go through medical records to find out their patients’ history.
They propose the Shift Outpatient Model, which guides consultants and physicians to cooperate to attain positive outcomes in their duties. The model encourages them to get involved in formulating primary care interventions in order to understand important clinical and administrative procedures. Moreover, the model focuses on diverse primary healthcare programs that need to be streamlined to improve the quality of services offered to patients. Therefore, a patient-centered consultation process adds value to healthcare and reduces costs incurred by patients whenever they seek medical treatment (Frost, Toubassi & Detsky, 2012, p. 826). In the long run, physicians and consultants acquire new skills that increase their competence in their practice due to their willingness to learn new ideas. The authors insist that this approach has improved health outcomes in Ontario, Alberta, and New Brunswick. It has made it possible for patients to get sound medical advice and treatment from different health facilities they visit.
Reference
Frost, D.W., Toubassi, D., & Detsky, A.S. (2012). Rethinking the consultation process: Optimizing collaboration between primary care physicians and specialists.Canadian Family Physicians, 58 (8), 825–828. Web.