I always love hearing somebody who has taken an old problem and applied new thinking to it. I remember John Patterson telling me this is the “ah ha” moment of appreciation of how good this idea really is.
Well, I had my “ah ha” moment last week as Brian Ko spoke to us about WeCare Health. He and his brother, who immigrated from Korea as children, both graduated as Doctors of Medicine. They have worked as specialists and have now moved into general practice.
How many times have we sat in the doctors waiting room and wondered just how long will we have to wait? Or wondered if all that blood sucked out of our veins went anywhere, and what results did they provide. I am old enough to remember when the GP visited you in your homes. Patrick O’Connor has tales of accompanying his father on his GP rounds. That’s the sort of story my grandchildren sit and wonder if I have been making it up!
Brian took us through how through a picture of highly trained nurses in their practice, the application of AI into very good IT systems and doctors focusing on the serious health challenges they have developed an interesting medical practice. A nurse practitioner clinic is about to open (with a charge of $20 per visit) and this will release the medics to focus on the really challenging health issues for individuals, and they will have longer consultation periods.
I could not help thinking that this would be a fantastic idea for clinics in the poorer parts of our city. It really brings GP practices, which are so essential in our lives, into the 21st century.
Sit back and watch this presentation
Also, on this topic Ian Powell wrote about “polyclinics” which sound really like what Brian Ko has developed in Wigram and Lincoln.
Have a read about Ian’s ideas. They tie in nicely to the video above:
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