clinic receptionist now prepares for the day’s appointments by laying out ageappropriate well-child materials. The 123s Our efforts are paying off. Before our collaboration began, about 30 percent of the clinic’s young patients had developmental screenings. Six months after the partnership started, that figure rose to 85 percent, and has been maintained at greater than 95 percent for more than a year. Patient surveys indicate that the number of parents receiving education on health behaviors and injury-accident prevention rose from 40 percent to 63 percent. For parent education around physical and emotional development, the percentage rose from 46 to 72. The collaboration that started at that kitchen table now encompasses a range of programs, from kits focused on achieving kindergarten readiness, to parenting education curriculum, to our well-stocked lending library. All these efforts are intended to create a seamless connection between a child’s early health and development, and their early learning. One of the most frustrating things about being a doctor is caring for a family and not being able to make things better for them. The great joy of our partnership with Building Healthy Families is that we’re able to touch people in ways that extend beyond our traditional walls, outside standard medicine. The ultimate reward is watching those families thrive. For more information, please contact: Dr. Liz Powers | 541-426-4502 drpowers@windingwatersclinic.org Maria Weer | 541-426-4502 mweer@oregonbhf.org Resources for practices looking to develop programs or collaborations in their community: The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading: gradelevelreading.net Reach Out and Read: reachoutandread.org The Children’s Institute: childinst.org 30 Million Words Initiative: thirtymillionwords.org Dr. Powers meets with a family as the young patient’s brother enjoys the offerings of the clinic’s lending library. OKQ is OK by Me All it takes is One Key Question… “Would you like to become pregnant in the next year?” Just one question—the Oregon Foundation for Reproductive Health’s solution to ensure wanted, planned and healthy pregnancies—to direct me whether to address contraceptive or preconception counseling. But in the age of so many important screenings, I was hesitant to impose one more upon my staff, even after the warm reception OKQ received in our stand-up provider meeting. Imagine my surprise when I realized I didn’t have to invest energy in implementation: OKQ and appropriate responses were routinely showing up in my staff’s visit notes for women and for men alike (“Would you like your partner to become pregnant?”) of reproductive age. How does it work? Medical assistants scrub charts to ensure patients who cannot become pregnant aren’t asked the OKQ. Then it is the MAs, not clinicians, who ask the OKQ as part of the rooming process. The clinician and patient are then primed to have a meaningful discussion. This is just one example I’ve seen recently in our clinic where empowered and engaged medical assistants can greatly enhance the level of care our team can provide to our patients. —Liz Powers, MD For more information, visit onekeyquestion.org. w ww.theOMA.org Spring 2016 19
OMA Medicine in OR Spring 2016
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