ONE OF US
HOW A HOME VISIT MAY HAVE SAVED SCOTT'S LIFE A year ago, nurse practitioner Dr. Kati Kaushal worked for a provider Medica hired to give in-home physical exams to certain members. One afternoon, her list of patients to visit included Medica member Scott Anderson. (See Scott’s story starting on page 10 .)
ARE YOU EXPERIENCING CHEST PAINS? If you’re experiencing chest pains — even if you think it might just be heartburn or muscle strain — CALL 911 RIGHT AWAY. For more about symptoms of a heart attack or stroke and how to respond, see Minutes Matter on page 7.
Kaushal gave Scott a comprehensive health assessment that included going over his medication list, health history, current symptoms and completing a physical exam. One question she asked Scott was whether he had any chest pain with exertion. He told her he had been experiencing chest pain and tightness while riding a stationary bike and climbing stairs — also including an hour prior to the visit as he was walking his dog. She then took his blood pressure, which was 170/100 — a very high reading. Kaushal recommended that Scott go straight to the ER. He declined an ambulance, which Kaushal thought was reasonable since he wasn’t having active chest pain or other symptoms. He told her he would wait for his wife to return home from shopping so she could drive him to the hospital. “I didn’t feel safe just walking out the door and leaving him there,” Kaushal says. “With Scott’s permission, I called his wife and urged her to come home quickly to take him to the ER. I stayed with Scott until his wife arrived home, and I called the ER to give a report on Scott’s condition and let them know he would be coming in.” As reported in Scott’s story, the visit to the ER resulted in emergency surgery for a stent to open up his blocked heart, and Scott credits Medica — and Kaushal — with saving his life. “Most of these visits don’t lead to me encountering an emergency situation,” she says. “But I’ve had three patients that ended up having to be rushed to the hospital for vascular or cardiovascular procedures. In another instance, I caught a kidney patient that was on an unsafe dose of medication and I quickly worked with her primary doctor to get that changed. “Our in-home visits are a full hour in a relaxed home setting, which is more than patients generally receive in an o ce visit. We can really take the time to go through their allergies, their medications, their mental health. Since we’re in the home we can identify things like loose rugs or other potential fall risks. We can recommend resources like SilverSneakers or Meals on Wheels. Or we can help them call Medica if they need help finding a doctor or need their benefits explained to them.”
13
MEDICA MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs