Primary Care Physicians (PCPS) and Neurologists should be working hand and hand to provide quality healthcare to patients across the country. We should be working together within our residency programs to facilitate this cultural change while our doctors are still in training. When we educate the primary care physician on the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Guidelines and Quality Measures we will create a partnership that will provide better care for patients with epilepsy. In addition, this will take the burden off of the neurologists because patients are seeing less primary care doctors and using their neurologists as a primary care physician or going to a walk-in clinic (which is not a good option for patients with a chronic medical condition). Our goal is having the BEST healthcare outcome for ALL patients. As children are transitioning out of their pediatrician’s office we need to make sure they are not getting lost in the cracks of the healthcare system and ensure they are being referred to a primary care doctor. Neurologist should be in contact with each patient’s primary care at least once a year to follow up to make sure they understand what is happening with the patient’s neurology care. Neurologists and primary care physicians (PCPs) need to teach their patients how to advocate for themselves and their health condition. Here at My Epilepsy Story (MES), we can assist you with this! We can provide educational materials for your patients as well as doctors. MES has presented at Grand Rounds across the country. We can also set up Grand Rounds Presentations with your hospital/clinic to share with you about how we are doing this from the doctor and patient perspective.
Remember we are all in this TOGETHER and we can change things for patients across the country!
~Brandy McFadden
