July 11, 2009 Meeting Newsletter
Talk, Talk, Talk
We met on Saturday and our discussions began with Patricia giving us a summary of her panel meeting in Los Angeles. This was a meeting of several professionals from different MS venues putting their heads together to narrow down specifics of the MS Quality of Care Indicators determined last year. Considering the many facets of MS care, guidelines are essential for physicians to follow in order to provide quality care specific to MS..
This discussion led us into talking about the current role physicians are facing as a result of insurance reimbursements, patient overload and malpractice insurance. The book “How Doctors Think” by Dr. Jerome Groopman was recommended reading on this subject. Unfortunately, per insurance requirements, doctors are forced to move patients through within 10 minutes which undoubtedly leads to less personal attention and quality care. In many cases the reimbursements fall short of the doctor’s needs. Most doctors entered the profession with the thought of seeing patients, getting to know them and their history, diagnosing and following up with appropriate treatment. Those days appear to be gone much to doctor’s & patient’s dismay. The result that seems apparent to us is that the physician pool will dwindle and as a patient one must enter the doctor visit with a list in hand for the doctor’s attention so as to address your concerns in a timely manner.
We then introduced Judy Michels who returned to discuss her Bowen Therapy technique. Her gentle muscle movements produce some very desirable results as we witnessed first hand as she applied this technique on several people present. It is our intention to have Judy come and work on several people. She comes from Mt. Shasta which means that we need to have several people signed up to justify her travel expense. She can work on three people at a time and brings her own tables so we just need to secure a place for her to work. If you are interested in being treated please e-mail us at . We have a list started and she only charges $35/hr.
Our next meeting will be held August 1st. Hope to see you there!
Stay cool,
Patricia & Sally