June 5, 2018 – Fulcrum Health, Inc. has released a summary and presentation takeaways from its 2018 Symposium and Annual Meeting which focused on team-based care as an approach to pain management, opioid use, and conservative care utilization. The event, “Care Connections: Building Bridges for Integrative Care,” took place May 17 at the Sheraton Hotel in Bloomington, MN.
Industry experts representing hospitals and health systems, chiropractic providers, payers, rehabilitation professionals, and integrated medicine providers shared research and perspectives on how a team-based approach can influence the patient experience and improve long-term outcomes. Experts discussed how different care providers can come together across the care continuum to find the best course for pain management for each patient. Conservative care has proven to be a highly effective option for pain management, offering relief without the use of surgical procedures or opioids.
Key takeaways for attendees and medical professionals included:
1. Medical and chiropractic doctors are collaborating to improve patient-centered care and continuity of care. This team-based approach can build a bridge between a variety of clinicians that improves care coordination and outcomes for pain management, often without resorting to opioids or surgery. This helps create realistic patient expectations about the recovery process, pain, and self-management.
2. Patients report that alternative care methods and team-based care have a positive impact on their health. Patient speakers shared emotional stories highlighting the improved quality of life they were able to achieve through Fulcrum network providers.
3. Findings show that opioids can cause patients to become hypersensitive and make their pain worse long-term, which makes it beneficial for patients to seek non-pharmacological, conservative care first and for care teams to work together with the patient at the center of the equation.
“We live in a country facing an opioid epidemic, yet there are other non-pharmacologic, conservative treatment options that can be used prior to or in combination with opioid pain medications. Our symposium was meant to reinforce that there are effective, evidence-based, low-risk, conservative care options for managing pain that can help people in ways that truly improve their quality of life,” said Patricia Dennis, CEO, Fulcrum Health. “We examined how chiropractic networks use a multi-modality approach to overall patient health and wellness and chronic pain management, and we also offered patients a unique opportunity to share their struggles and stories of how physical medicine has impacted their lives for the better.”
For more information and to view the summary, visit fulcrumhealthinc.org.
Source: Fulcrum Health
