Question 3
We now know that reasonable, good health care is affordable and successful at managing Type II diabetes, why then is not a larger part of the population taking advantage of these services? What would you do to promote your services to the targeted population of obese patients with Type II diabetes?
posted by Anonymous @ 7:16 PM
13 comments
13 Comments:
There could be several contributing factors to poor use of these services by the general public, such as lack of awareness of the services, lack of insurance coverage (or simply not knowing whether it is covered by insurance), denial of disease (not wanting to admit it is a problem or simply not wanting to change old habits and instead treating the consequences rather than the root of the problem), or even the stigma attached to such healthcare services which may embarrass them (such as “there must be something wrong with me or I must be doing something wrong if I have to get help with this”).
I think that Vanessa had many good points about patients being unaware or unable to afford specific services. Many patients have enough money to participate in health services; however they don’t want to put their money into their own health. Therefore they perceive those types of programs as being very expensive and unaffordable. I also think that many patients are looking for “drastic” programs with “special” secrets to cure common diseases. They have been fooled by so many of these types of programs that they may have a real distrust for the medical field, and don’t realize how simple and affordable a successful program can really be when it has professionals addressing all of the pertinent issues. To promote my own services, I would definitely make sure that I was marketing to the public so that potential patients were aware of what I had to offer them. Many times, this can be done most easily by making sure that your current patients are transferring information by word-of-mouth to potential clients- if you are successful in helping them, they can be your own testimonials!
I agree that there is a lack of awareness in the availability of services. I also believe that many people would have to jump through hoops to get these services covered. Often times insurance companies have very strict regulations and may require a primary doctor's referral, etc. So if it requires a lot of additional work on the part of the patient; it is doubtful they will see the benefits when they can just take drugs. Also it is a lot easier to take medications then make lifestyle changes and I believe many people are not motivated to make those changes despite the advantages and possible cost effectiveness.
There are several reasons why people do not take advantage of what is out there. One is that while we may think we have good insurance sometimes it is often too hard to get a referral or be seen by a specialist or support group/counseling sessions with an RD. People on medicaid and those who have excellent health care have access to RD's for Diabetes tx, however there are still plenty of people out there that do not have access to health care and seeing an RD is the last thing on their mind. Another reason is that people are not aware of the services out there, and Dr's either aren't aware as well or don't share the information enough. As vanessa said, some are in denial of their disease and it may take them years to come to grips with it and see an RD or specialist who can help them. And as Annie said, people often look at taking medications before changing their lifestyle because it takes a lot less work.
To promote services you need to understand what insurance covers and maybe even how to get more services covered by insurance. It is also important to get the word out to Dr's but also to patients so that they can question their Dr's and have an understanding of what they have available to them.
Annie-
I definitely agree that we basically live in a "lazy" society today--if something requires a few extra phone calls or some paper work, people may figure that it's just not worth their time even if it is to better their health. They also want a quick-fix and an easy way out to solve a problem that may have taken years to develop. Most people don't adapt to change very well as they like to stick to their daily routine and bad habits and find it much easier to pop a pill rather than make lifestyle changes.
I agree with what many people have said in that actually there is a lot of people who lack the appropriate access to health care to meet their needs. This is why it is critical as a dietetics professional to make known the value of our profession and importance of making it a cost covered by insurance companies.
Many of the girls have made excellent points as to why more of our populations is not taking advantage of these weight/diabetic management services, including lack of awareness and costing issues. I think that the lack of motivation to get help is also a really big factor as to why these programs are not used to their full potential. To promote my services, I think it is important to work with other medical staff and use many of your networking options. After the networking has taken place, it is important to have an effective program set up so that these patients realize the degree of impact that your program could have on their overal health. It is important to understand cost issues and you, as the RD, to try to work with the insurance companies the best you can in order to help the patients get the financial help needed to utilize the service. The obesity/diabetes issues will not be solved it our costs are too high to be able to give the clients the knowledge/motivation/results they need in order to keep the disease manageable.
There are several reasons why the public may not be taking advantage of these services offered to Type 2 Diabetics. Some of these individuals may be in financial strain and cannot afford to pay for the services. They could also completely not be aware of these services offered to them. Their insurance company may not cover the services offered or it could be that they are apathetic about their situation. I would increase awareness by promoting the services to patients that are potential candidates. I could also promote awareness of the services at Diabetes events or health fairs.
Steph,
You made an excellent point about the lack of health care among many individuals. Some healthcare plans will not cover RD's and this creates a problem among the obese/diabetic population. Vanessa also made a good point about denial of the disease. If they have no desire to learn about or control their disease, they will not want to speak with an RD.
Most people when faced with an issue such as managing Type 2 DM find that an exercise/diet regimen is a harder solution than the option of taking a pill to counteract the effect of the disease. I believe for awhile now we have become a "pill taking" society believing that this is a simple solution that answers all of their problems without having to give up anything. This is one reason that many do not resort to lifestyle changes until they are already diagnosed with a medical condition. In the last few years the trend seems to be an increased interest/awareness in how to live a healthy lifestyle especially to combat the onset of a diseas. To try and guide my patients to a lifestyle change rather than adding another prescription to their regimen would be to inform them of the dangers/risks of taking prescriptions over long periods of time. Once they see that this may not be the best way to make them healthier, and that they may actually be doing more harm, I think, many will change their minds.
I think that many people have mentioned the fact that RD services are not always covered under health insurance...somehow I think that this needs to change, then we can promote the services we offer and in the long run hopefully changes will be seen!
I completely agree with Stephanie's previous comment. The fact that services in the dietetic area are not generally covered under insurance (except when the M.D. orders RD consult) is a major problem in our health care system. Until this is addressed the people who would like to learn more about healthy habits may not be allowed (due to expensive health care bills) to do so until they are diagnosed. Prevention needs to be the key element from here on out in order to change the direction we are heading in.
Karlie,
You make a wonderful point when you say that clients are looking for a "secret magic" cure that will take place quickly. Instead of working hard to eat healthy foods and control portion sizes, people are very caught up in habits and many are unwilling to change. I think that in order for people to see how successful dietitians are they need to have patience and actually "try" to follow a healthier lifestyle. I say try with quotes because I understand that no one is perfect and there are going to be days when you will eat poorly, but if the majority of your food choices is healthy and planned out with an RD, most likely results will follow suit!
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