A general thought on... Preventive Health and Wellness
GVHP is committed to preventative health. GVHP is also committed to wellness. This is more important today than ever before. Many serious illnesses can be prevented by healthier lifestyles. Immunizations as well as early detection and treatment can help keep you healthy. Your GVHP Family Practice Office Team and you have the opportunity to do something about this. Use your GVHP Family Practice Office's skills and resources. These resources promote good health. They can prevent diseases. Become involved with your GVHP Family Practice Office team! Here are some ways we can do this.
Preventive Health Guidelines
A common member request is one about a "complete physical." This is sometimes called an "annual check-up." Many members do not how often they should get one. Several years ago an annual check-up was a standard part of medical care. In fact, some companies and schools made it a requirement. Nearly everyone now agrees that an annual check-up is not necessary. Now the question is . . . How often should you have one?
Childhood exams are scheduled according to age. Adult physicals are based on family and personal history. The exact schedule for an adult physical will vary from person to person.
GVHP would like to help you know when to ask for a physical. So, at your first GVHP Family Practice Office visit you will be asked to complete a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA). This asks questions about your health. It asks about personal health habits. It also asks for information about your immediate family. Your GVHP Family Practice Office practitioner reviews the questionnaire. He or she looks for things that might signal more information is needed. These are considered to be "high risk."
To help you in your pursuit of health, we would like to share our Health Maintenance Guidelines. These guidelines are based on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Forces' report, Guide to Clinical Preventive Services. They are also based on the American Academy of Family Physicians' Summary of Policy Recommendations for Periodic Health Examinations (Adobe PDF file).
We encourage you to take the time to read our guidelines. If you have any questions, ask your GVHP Family Practice Office. We want you to stay healthy!
These are the general preventive health guidelines which GVHP follows. For more specific information, please contact your GVHP Family Practice Office.
Disease management is a new term. It's receiving lots of attention. There are newspaper articles and television shows about Disease management. Health plans and employers are seeing the importance of programs that "manage" the disease process.
Disease management is a way of always improving a person's health. It involves managing a total span of care. It draws upon clinical studies. It includes outcomes. Proven methods of care are also a part. It involves a wide range of health care professionals in managing care. These include physicians and nurses. Wellness counselors can be involved.
Disease management means you need to change the way you think about health care. It also means the physician needs to change the way he or she views the "patient." Disease management moves away from being "reactive" to the practice of treating illness. "Reactive" means care is given when you are sick or not well. Instead, it looks at the "proactive" practice of managing the entire disease process. This is done to prevent illness and its reoccurrence. "Proactive" means care is given before or during a condition or illness. This helps avoid unnecessary tests or hospitalizations. Proactive equals prevention!
Chronic conditions are usually handled through a disease management program. Examples of chronic conditions include diabetes and asthma. Congestive heart failure and depression are other programs, to mention a few. Costs can go down by focusing on ways to prevent problems. An opposite effect then occurs. Quality of life goes up! People with chronic diseases learn how to be healthy. They also learn how to stay healthy.
A disease management program is a team effort. The member and practitioner "lead" the way. Pharmaceuticals or drugs are important. Medicines alone, however, are not enough. A team of other health professionals support the program. Nurses, doctors, other health professionals play a key role. Other health professionals include physical therapists, specialty physicians, or wellness counselors. All play a major role in "changing" patient behavior. The member's support system can be involved. This support system includes the family, friends and significant others. Information and education are key. Other resources about the disease also give a solid foundation. This supports member learning. This helps with member understanding about what happens during the course of the disease. This also includes the "whats" of doing or not doing!
The member is the most important part of the disease management team. As he or she begins to understand the illness, he or she can begin to apply this to daily living. This leads to gaining a feeling of "control." This is often missing in chronic illness.
Disease management programs are showing that they are effective. These programs are being measured. Results are being reported in professional journals. Popular journals and television news are picking this information up as well. These outcomes make quality a major part of the efforts to improve health status.
GVHP offers disease management programs. We have been nationally recognized for our diabetes and asthma programs. We are also developing other disease management programs. There is no need to "opt in" or "opt out" of these programs. GVHP disease management programs are simply the way GVHP's family practice practitioners will provide your care based on your medical conditions. They will provide you with information on GVHP's disease management program for your specific condition.
If you would like more information about GVHP's disease management Programs, call your GVHP Family Practice Office.
GVHP offers a wide range of wellness services. We offer individual and group sessions on important health topics. Some topics that are covered include weight reduction and stress management. Smoking cessation is another topic. We also teach about cholesterol and heart care. We also have classes in breast-feeding and childbirth preparation. These are just a few the topics we offer.
You can learn more about GVHP wellness services in the member publication, HealthLine. Look for the section Preventive Steps . . . on the back cover. You can call your GVHP Family Practice Office to learn more, or call your GVHP Customer Service Team at (616) 949-2410.
Many common illnesses, such as colds, stomach aches, earaches, or minor cuts, can be effectively treated at home. The Helping You Help Yourself Handbook is your reference guide to basic health care information. GHVP has developed this book just for you!
The Helping You Help Yourself Handbook explains home treatment. It can tell you when to call your GVHP Family Practice Office. It can tell you when to get immediate medical care. Other health care and GVHP plan information can be found in this book as well. We want to help you avoid unnecessary work and gain confidence in dealing with simple medical problems. This can help you avoid lost time by making unnecessary trips to the doctor. You might want to send a copy with your college-bound student. A free copy of the Helping You Help Yourself Handbook is available at your GVHP Family Practice Office at your first visit. If you do not have one, call your GVHP Family Practice Office today.
GVHP Holistic Health Services
Grand Valley Health Plan offers Integrative Holistic Health Services. Holistic Health Care Services includes osteopathic manipulation therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic care. These services are only available through the GVHP Integrative Holistic Health Care Program. Your GVHP Family Practice Office you will be evaluated to see what type of services will best meet your medical needs. If your GVHP Family Practice provider believes that you need these types of services they will refer you to receive GVHP Integrative Holistic Health service
These services are limited to 20 combined visits in your contract year. For example, you may go to 5 acupuncture visits, 10 chiropractic visits, and 5 massage therapy visits. This would be a total of 20 combined visits. If you have an office visit copayment on your plan it would apply to each one of these visits.
GVHP offers its female members an added-value service. We also offer appointments for pap, pelvic and breast exams at our Women's Wellness Center. This is located at 2680 Leonard NE. This is the same location as Beckwith GVHP Family Practice Office. Appointments at the Women 's Wellness Center are with female mid-level practitioners. The Women's Wellness Center is open on selected Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
For information about the services of the Women's Wellness Center, please call your GVHP Family Practice Office or the GVHP Customer Service Team at 616-949-2410.
We at GVHP know how special the birth of a new child is. Because of this, we have developed a new OB program. This program is committed to individualized and personal care. We call this program the GVHP OB Center of Excellence. It is located at 2680 Leonard NE. This is the same location as Beckwith GVHP Family Practice Office. Our OB Center of Excellence program includes using Spectrum-Butterworth for births.
The OB Center of Excellence has a team of professionals who specialize in OB care. This team includes family practice physicians, OB/GYN physicians and nursing staff. This team develops a care plan tailored to each individual's pregnancy. This means you will have the best possible care and outcome - a healthy mom and baby!
You get your prenatal and postnatal care at the OB Center of Excellence. All your care, both well and sick, happens at the OB Center of Excellence Center. We encourage you to have at least one appointment with each of our family practice physicians. This will help you to get to know your OB team in preparation for your delivery.
If you have any questions about this program, call your GVHP Family Practice Office. You can reach the OB Center of Excellence by calling 1-800-891-8322. This is a free call.
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