Assurance - A Commitment to Informed Care

As a physician /consultant I have always been involved in panels as an advisor on quality assurance and standards of care and after many years in private practice as a clinician and surgeon I wanted to extend my influence in a new direction.

One significant project involves my commitment to informed care. As healthcare's digital front door widens and more patients are confronted with disparate information it becomes more difficult for patients to understand the reasons and options for care. To make decisions with certainty and confidence when often times the current health care system looks to automate diagnosis and management leaving many patients confused. My speciality, medicine and surgery of the foot and ankle, seems to be especially vulnerable to misguidance and misinformation and over the years much of my practice involved second opinions, patient education and surgical redoes. This guide is an extension of a web-based series called Assurance that blends my years of clinical experience and diplomate status in the analysis and treatment of the foot and ankle with my post doctoral certification in physician quality assurance and utilization review.

This series is designed to be a practice-driven, expert led overview on navigating the healthcare system. As a board certified clinician and surgeon with a perspective based on over 40 years in the practice of the medical, surgical and orthopedic treatment of the foot and ankle, with professional insight and clinical observation and perhaps a critique or two on the state of healthcare today, I’m sharing my thoughts on how patients and providers can work together to achieve the best possible care.

Collaborating with master trained educators in the field of healthcare we review common conditions of the foot, ankle and lower extremity patients most often present with and discuss informed decision making to improve patient care.

Why This Series is Important

An understanding of your body’s structure and function is never more important than now. Knowing how your body works, what to expect in sickness and health, when and where to seek medical attention, how to make an informed decision about your health care needs and managing your health care dollars can make a difference between activity and independence for you and the one’s you love and an increased risk for chronic illness and a decline in the quality of life.

One of the many lessons COVID taught us is that, as a nation, our health IQ needs to improve so that we can be more certain about the decisions we make on the health of ourselves and our families. A growing body of evidence shows that higher patient activation, meaning patients with the knowledge and confidence to become actively engaged in their health care, have better health outcomes (1). Better healthcare outcomes are a win-win situation for both patients and providers with overall benefits for improved community health.

This guide is arranged in a series with specific topics that allow you to better understand the human body in the maintenance of health and the treatment of disease with actionable information to improve patient encounters as you navigate our healthcare system. Its purpose is to improve patient certainty in understanding their options for treatment as they seek care with confidence.

Additional topics include reviews of clinical conditions of the foot, ankle and lower extremity patients most often present with and discuss informed decision making as it applies to each condition. It is not meant to take the place of a provider encounter but to give you as a patient a level of understanding to make that encounter more useful and productive.

1. Hibbard JH, Greene J. What the evidence shows about patient activation: better health outcomes and care experiences; fewer data on costs. Health Aff (Millwood). 2013 Feb;32(2):207-14. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1061. PMID: 23381511.