Team-Based Care at UT Health Austin
Women’s Health providers Christina Salazar, MD, and Amy Young, MD, discuss our team-based approach and it’s advantages for patients with KXAN’s Sally Hernandez.
What is the team-based approach?
At UT Health Austin, physicians and providers in the care team meet collectively and collaboratively to discuss each patient before their visit. That means everyone on the care team, which may include physicians, dietitians, emotional health experts, surgeons, nurses, and medical assistants, all have a say in each patient’s care. This approach provides experts and resources for patients (that they may not usually have access to) before they walk through the door. This knowledge allows the providers to put together a unique and individualized care plan that is then implemented for each patient.
How does this type of care impact patients?
In addition to helping the doctors stay focused on the patient, having a team-based approach is beneficial for the patient too.
Normally, if a patient needed access to multiple resources, they may have to travel to multiple clinic offices to receive the care that is available at UT Health Austin. It reduces the amount of time, distance and energy a patient has to spend to get the care they need.
Patients benefit by having the providers talk to each other in real-time without having to wait on phone calls or emails from various providers - they communicate and interact with each other immediately. As Dr. Young says, you can walk down the hall and grab your colleague and have them come see the patient right away.
Problems are often caught more quickly, especially at the UT Health Austin Women’s Institute where they specialize in three conditions: chronic pelvic pain, pelvic floor disorders and incontinence and vulvar pain. This team-based approach allows the care team to address the patient’s total, whole-person needs, not just to treat the symptoms or diagnosis the patient may be presenting.
What has the response been from patients?
Dr. Salazar says patients have sought them out or patients have been referred by their gynecologists. They have a positive experience in getting answers to questions they may have had for a while, as well as getting relief from chronic pain that is changing their quality of life. The patients feel like they are being listened to and that they matter.
For more information about Women’s Health, visit here or call 1-833-UT-CARES (1-833-882-2737).
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