Dr. Regueiro is also the codirector of UPMC Total Care-IBD, the nation’s first patient-centered medical home for people with IBD. Dr. Regueiro’s research has shown that coordinating the care and managing the symptoms of IBD can be a time-consuming, disjointed experience for both patients and doctors. The idea behind patient-centered medical homes is to have all health care coordinated by one person and one team, often provided in the same location (sometimes even in the same day). Dr. Regueiro’s research has demonstrated that patient-centered medical homes improve the patient experience, enhance the quality of health care and decrease costs for patients and insurers.
“In the IBD medical home model, the gastroenterologist coordinates the whole-person care,” says Dr. Regueiro. “At the beginning of a visit, we’ll ask patients a set of questions that include what their three top problems are and what they want to get out of the visit. For example, a patient tells us she had a hard time paying for the bus to come to clinic. She has a lot of stress and bone pain. The gastroenterologist sees her for the IBD and then helps her tackle her other top concerns. The patient meets with the social worker or psychiatrist on our team for the stress. She also sees the dietitian, the surgeon and a pain specialist—all in one visit. After that, rather than bring her back for multiple separate visits, we’re now using telemedicine [checking in using technology] and remote monitoring so that she doesn’t need to come into clinic as often.”
In addition to the medical home helping patients with IBD, Dr. Regueiro says that more advances in research are also helping people cope with the disease.
“Nobody wants these diseases,” he says, “but compared to the past, we know so much more. Research has given us knowledge in the areas of genetics, immunology and the microbiome [the organisms that live in the body and affect how it operates]. IBD used to be primarily a disease people of northern European descent would get. In the last 20 years, we’re seeing it more and more in people from all races and ethnicities. Research is now focusing on how IBD affects different populations differently and how to treat these differences. But we probably understand more about these diseases and their treatments than we ever have. This is a time of great hope for IBD.”
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
About Post Author
