Paul Szmal: Good morning, it is 8.15, it's Friday morning, and it's our monthly check-in with Finger Lakes Community Health, which operates health centers all throughout the Finger Lakes, at LocalCommunityHealth.com. We're joined by Sarah Minor, registered nurse, Director of Quality with Finger Lakes Community Health. Good morning.
Guest: Good morning, thanks for having me.
Paul Szmal: We're happy to have you here. Before we talk about our topic today, which is the importance of the annual physical, I want to talk a little bit about your position as Director of Quality. How do you measure and how do you make sure everybody's doing what they need to do, especially in a far-flung practice with locations all over a wide area?
Guest: Yeah, so really part of my role is making sure that we as an organization, you know, that the care we give, we're not just taking care of everybody, we're giving everybody the best care. And so being far-flung and being rural means we absolutely pay attention to things like how far people have to travel to come and have an appointment with us, making sure they know where they're going to get their medications, if they have to connect to other specialty services. So really my role is kind of working with everybody in our organization to make sure they have what they need to take care of the people who come see us and that we kind of have the information we need to make sure that whoever is coming to see us has what they need as well. And so, you know, that means we take a look and we measure things. We measure like the health outcomes of the patients who we take care of to make sure that they are getting better and that they have access to the services they need. So we do a lot of different things. We have different programs and different projects and I kind of work with everybody to oversee all of that.
Paul Szmal: And especially the area that you serve has traditionally been an underserved area because it's hard sometimes for people to access care. Are you finding an improvement in overall health in the rural population now that you have all these clinics open up all throughout the Finger Lakes?
Guest: Well absolutely because I think a big part of improving care is making sure people have access to it, right? So the idea that we have these clinics in various places, Geneva, Sotus, Penan, Bath, Port Byron, you know, it's about having a place where people can connect and talk about what they need and then we figure out how to get them what they need, right? And we know, I mean, that can be are you pregnant and you need prenatal care? Is it just that you need to manage your high blood pressure, your diabetes? We also have telehealth, right? Because we do have people who are so far flung. So if you're really far away, we can also use telehealth to have you talk to your doctor if you can't get in to come and see us. And I think when we do these things, when we really think about a rural place and making sure that care is for that rural place, people's health care does get better. Their outcomes get better and that's part of why we want them to come in and see us for these annual preventative visits.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, there's been a real move in medicine over the last few years toward prevention. Because if you spend a dollar on prevention, you save two or three dollars on trying to cure something later on. So we're going to talk about some of the reasons why people might not get their annual physical, but talk about why that's an important part of your health routine.
Guest: Yeah, and so absolutely right. Everybody knows how expensive health care is and so thank you that, you know, prevention, you put a dollar in there, you're going to save many dollars later on. The thing though that I also want to talk about is like your quality of life, right? So it's not just about money. When we prevent illness and we can help you stay as healthy as possible, that means you get to live your life in a much better way, right? So it's also about, you know, as you age, you know, you want to be an active grandparent. You want to be able to participate in activities. So preventing you from getting sick is so important. One, of course, for money and saving money, but also just for people's quality of life.
Paul Szmal: I know that sometimes people are afraid that it might be too costly to have a physical, but again, in keeping with that move toward preventive medicine, many insurances will cover that maybe without a deductible.
Guest: Yeah, in fact, you know, it's hard. Of course, there are so many different types of insurance, right? And so we're always going to say, like, I know it's hard, but I always encourage people, try to figure out what your insurance will pay for or not, and you can call them. You can, you know, use your phone or if you're comfortable with the internet, get online, sign into your account. You know, you can ask them, what will you pay for, what will you not pay for? But a lot of these preventative exams, all health insurance companies do pay for. So most of the time when we're coming in to ask you for an annual preventative exam, the cost is going to be very low and many things will be covered. And also, if you're worried about it, you can call us and we'll help you figure that out too.
Paul Szmal: Typically when we go see a provider, it's with a specific complaint and that's what we focus on and we get a prescription or a cure and we walk out the door. So with a physical, you have a chance to talk and share concerns and the doctor can get to know his or her patient.
Guest: Yeah, and ideally that's what we want, right? I mean, I think most of us, when we go in to see a doctor, we want to feel like we're being actually seen, like we're not just a number, right? And if you only go in when you're sick, then sometimes that is kind of the risk. You go in, we say, okay, what's bothering you? This is what we're going to give to bother you and then things move on or to stop what's bothering you. A physical is really a time to be able to talk to your provider for them to get to know you. What is important to you? What's important for your health? What do you need? You know, most physicals you actually get a little more time than you would in a standard visit, which is quick, like if you're going in for a sick visit. And we think and we know that when your provider knows you and you know your provider and you're comfortable telling them how you feel, then what we're going to be able to do to help you with your health is better, right? You're going to talk to us about, this is how I want to feel. These are the things that are important to me for my health and then we can help you get there.
Paul Szmal: And that's another barrier sometimes is people might be embarrassed or reluctant to talk about something and they really shouldn't be. I mean, your medical provider is the one person that you can and should be fully, completely open with.
Guest: Yeah, well and we hope so, right? And I say this, you know, I've been a nurse now for about 25 years so and most of the providers we work with, you know, like we have seen and heard just about everything. So we really don't want you to feel judged. We really want you to come in and have a space to say, this is what I'm worried about. This is what I'm nervous about. This is also something that I'm excited about or I heard about this thing. Can I talk to you about it? There's so much information out there about health. Not all of it is good. And so when you come in and you talk to your provider, we want you to feel like you can say whatever you need. And again, coming in with an annual preventive visit means you also get the chance to kind of have a relationship with your provider and then feel more comfortable telling them things that might be really private or make you feel nervous. We are used to that. That's what we want.
Paul Szmal: If things change as we age, so in my case for example, I'm a 66 year old man, pretty good health overall, a little overweight probably. What kind of questions should I ask or what kind of things should I be thinking about at my age?
Guest: That's great. You know, physical, I think what people do need to be prepared for with a physical is that we're going to ask you a lot of questions, right? Sure. But when you tell me like, hey, you're 66, I mean, one of my questions is have you had your colorectal screening yet? Right, Ted? Because that's something that we want to do for people as they age. We want to make sure we know that's an increased risk for you. With women, when they come in, we're going to talk to a lot of women's health issues and screenings that are relevant for how old they are. You know, have you had your mammogram? And that's not the only thing we talk about, of course, but we know that there are certain things that you age that you might be at more at risk for. And so we want to do those tests and we want to catch something early if you are at risk or be able to let you go home and say, hey, we did this screening and you're okay. You know, it's a relief. So lots of questions about just who you are, based on how old you are, based on your family history. You should be prepared that we're going to be interested in talking to you.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, I've had a couple of those in the last year or so where the doctor says everything's great and come see us in a year and you go, whew! What a relief, right?
Guest: Yeah. Well, and here's the other thing is that at a physical examination, it's kind of, you're a team and you can sort of map out a plan. Like I say, in my case, you know, I'm 66 years old. You can say to me, okay, here's the things you need to be thinking about in the next few years. Here are the tests that maybe you need to have more often than you've had previously. It's a chance to put together a working plan.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. And remember, not everything is going to be about what medicines you should be taking or tests. Like, some of it's like, hey, you're 66, you're doing great. We know physical activity is really important, so there are different ways to get physical activity. We know nutrition is important, so let's talk about nutrition. Let's talk about different ways that you can stay healthy as you age, right? So it's not that the only thing we talk about is what's wrong. We also talk about what's going well with you. How can we make sure that you still are able to do the things that keep you healthy and keep you happy?
Guest: And whether it's an annual exam or whatever kind of services, one of the great things at Finger Lakes Community Health is you have people. You have insurance navigators and a lot of people who will help you get that care in the most affordable way possible.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. And I think particularly because we work in health care, we know how confusing it is. So we want to make it as easy for you to understand as possible. And we have so many people who you can talk to and ask questions about. Like you mentioned, whether it's questions about insurance, we have people who are specialized in that. Whether it's questions about scheduling your appointment, do you need transportation, right? Do you want to schedule an appointment and bring your kids in at the same time? Because it's easy for you to make that hour-long trip if you can do all of you at once as opposed to different things. So really we're here to try and make sure that you understand what you need, that you have access to it, and that we can help you in any way possible.
Guest: If you're listening to this conversation, there is a Finger Lakes Community Health location near you. They're all over the Finger Lakes at localcommunityhealth.com. Sarah Miner, registered nurse and director of quality with Finger Lakes Community Health. Great information. Thanks for the conversation. Really appreciate it.
Paul Szmal: Thank you so much.
