General Societal Shifts Toward Wellness
There are several areas of societal wellness that we should all be working toward improving. Let’s briefly discuss three of those areas by offering suggestions on how to improve your practice and personal life in simple ways that will help achieve wellness goals.
1. Increase quality and years of healthy life.
We all want to live longer and we’d like to have as little physical limitations as possible. One of the best ways to continue enjoying a vibrant and healthy lifestyle is through daily fitness. You don’t have to go to a gym or even push yourself very hard. As a healthcare practitioner, you should be setting an example to your patients by fitting in a daily 30- to 45-minute brisk walk – (with a good stretch before and after). Your body will thank you by remaining flexible and strong. You’ll also be doing your bones a favor, as they too will become stronger. And best of all, you won’t feel like a hypocrite when you tell patients that they need to start a daily exercise routine!
2. Eliminate health disparities.
The disparities we’re referring to here are in healthcare and related services to those who experience economic difficulties and/or race or ethnicity bias. The American Medical Association recently urged physicians and medical facilities to examine their treatment practices in order to further eliminate any health disparity issues. Is this an area where you feel you should step up your game? If so, ask your staff what changes they think would be useful, then collect and implement the suggestions. In fact, set it in stone with a public offer that will help others, then watch your practice improve its reputation.
3. Increase access to health information and services for all.
This is a big goal, and you are likely not going to be able to accomplish it all on your own, so now’s the time to use your connections. If you notice that many of your patients have specific issues, such as type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol, do some research. Contact the appropriate support organizations and find out what’s on top of their agenda in terms of effective treatments and programs. If there is something that your office can help implement, consider adding it to your service offerings. For example, sponsor a monthly group session where people can learn about healthy recipes or nutrition styles that help with overall wellness. It’s not all about finding the right drug, but also about finding answers that work for many of your individual patients.
These ideas may not be new, but they can be effective. If nothing else, there is a satisfaction and connection that happens when people know their physician is looking out for them and not just trying to move them through their appointments as fast as possible.
Theo Trapalis is a Senior Account Executive at New York based Prime Access advertising. Prime Access is the only full-service multicultural advertising and marketing communications company specializing in health care.
