In the Women's Health Masterclass, we take a deep dive into the challenges and the opportunities that the last two years have brought to women's health. We speak to Dr Tori Hudson ND, Dr Lisa Alschuler ND FABNO, Dr Jaclyn Chasse ND, and Dr Meghan Walker ND to learn how these distinguished panelists have evolved their care delivery to better align with the needs of patients today.
Key Takeaways
- Impact When thinking about a pandemic, you have to differentiate between what comes from being “infected” and what comes from being “affected”. We have lots of data showing us how women of all ages, races, employment, and socioeconomic classes have had to shoulder really unique burdens relevant to Covid-19. There are issues related to mental health and self-care, balanced with child care and home teaching. Plus weight gain, increased alcohol use, delay of preventive medicine exams, and recommended tests, also the decline in birth rates, as well as even increased risk during pregnancy are important. And let’s not forget violence against women in the home.
- Fertility The pandemic has been a “baby bust”. This is the sharpest decline we've had in the birth rate in the United States since we've been tracking it. There are biological impacts of stress on our fertility. But then also that fear and uncertainty. Last year, many women going through fertility treatment were in mid-cycle. They might have been injecting themselves with drugs when the fertility clinics shut down for months. In my own fertility practice, a ton of women were coming in because they didn't want to wait and they wanted to try to get pregnant.
- Delayed Screening Women are delaying screenings which is having an impact on their outcomes. Especially for chronic diseases like cancer. That's especially an issue for women at high risk, for example, women with a history of breast cancer. People are also having a lot of social isolation issues. And as we know, that's a huge determinant of disease outcome, especially in the world of oncology.
- Telehealth Women have generally rated their pandemic telehealth experience as good, very good or even excellent. However, medically underserved communities are also in Internet deserts. And so when we've all gone to telehealth, we've left out the population that's in the most need. And in those groups, of course, women are the most affected.
- Adapting Care Delivery Clinicians are pivoting their practice to a hybrid model where they combine one-on-one visits with virtual care delivery based on the needs of the patient. Both patients and practitioners have found the hybrid model to be more efficient and satisfactory.
The Quadrants of Care framework uses digital assets to engage with the patient in phases from casual interest through active engagement to one-on-one visits - and then follow-up. This model is designed to enable the practitioner to diversify their revenue stream while maximizing their income.
Key Quotes
“One of the things this pandemic has really underscored for me is the fact that naturopathic medicine is absolutely the medicine that this world needs. I think we are the right provider for the time. I see this as really an opportunity to pat yourself on the back, for taking this path, for recognizing the importance of our principles and to really feel strong, confident, and secure, and that you have a gift for the world and the world needs your gift very, very much right now”.
Dr Lise Alschuler ND FABNO
Surprising Facts
Data from Clinician Business Labs reveal that for the traditional clinician, 60 percent of the working week is spent seeing patients one-on-one. And yet, 60 percent of them are not charging appropriately for their services. By modernizing their care delivery model, they can spend about 25 percent of their time seeing patients one-on-one, while satisfying the goals they set themselves for achieving a positive impact on the health of their patients - and on their personal income.
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The opinions expressed in this Nutramedica program are those of the guests and contributors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Nutritional Fundamentals For Health Inc.
This video is intended for licensed or registered health professionals and students of health professions only. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Information contained in these programs is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
