Unfortunately, this type of complaint is all too common.  It could just be poor communication on the part of your provider — they’ve heard your concerns, looked into them, but  for whatever reason don’t discuss their findings with you.  Or it may be that they have “tuned you out” after numerous or repeated complaints about the same thing.  Certified Patient Services can alert your provider that they need to open the lines of communication with you.  Sometimes hearing this from a third party does the trick.

If that doesn’t work, then you may wish to seek a second opinion.  Certified Patient Services will analyze your medical history and lifestyle factors and research your description of your symptoms to help you narrow down the type of provider best suited for you.  We can get you industry ratings and patient reviews on specific providers for you to choose from and help set up an appointment with the provider of your choice.

Knowledge is power.  Certified Patient Services can provide you with informational materials and one-on-one education about your condition and all available treatment options (including those your provider may not have discussed with you) so you will better understand your options and the recommendations your provider has made.  If you do not agree and feel it is time to seek a second opinion, we can provide you with background information, industry ratings, and patient reviews to help you choose and make an appointment with another provider that may better meet your needs.

Long gone are the days when your family doctor oversaw all of your care.  There is no money in today’s healthcare system to cover that task.  Most primary care physicians do receive reports from the specialists you see, but they often do not have the luxury of giving them much more than a cursory overview.  Potentially dangerous errors or oversights such as medication interactions or compounding of side effects can and do result.

Certified Patient Services will take an integrative look at all of your records from all providers as well as your dietary and other lifestyle factors that you report in order to find areas where these kinds of mistakes may have been made.  Not only can notify your providers of these areas, but we can also help to open the lines of communication between your providers so they will consult with each other and avoid such problems in the future.

This is another area in which education is key.  You need to know all the pros and cons of every available treatment option — including the option not to treat, which many providers neglect to allow the patient to consider — before you can give truly informed consent for any one in particular.  Certified Patient Services can give you reliable information and statistics from trusted sources on all the latest mainstream and alternative treatment options (including some that your provider may not be allowed to discuss with you) and the providers who offer them as well as possible experimental or “under development” treatments only available through clinical trials or research studies.  This will allow you to confidently choose the path you wish to take.

Physical health conditions can and often do have profound psychological effects.  In some cases, these effects can be worse than the condition, itself.  And if you are afraid of or uncomfortable with the prescribed treatment to the point that it causes you to become non-compliant, your health condition may worsen to the point where it becomes more difficult to treat down the road.

Certified Patient Services can assist you in finding the emotional support you need to deal with the stress and anxiety of your diagnosis.  This may come in the form of counselling, support groups, education, whatever is best suited to your particular case.  We can also work with you and your provider to explore whether a more suitable treatment option that would be easier for you to adhere to might be an option.