Just one more question….

The four words uttered by a great number of orthopedic sports medicine patients at the end of their visit: “just one more question . . .”  It’s only natural that the brief time allotted for in-network evaluation of orthopedic conditions pressures both me and the patient.  It is difficult to strike a perfect amount of questions and answers in a comprehensive evaluation and discussion- but we try our best each time.

This is the first article in a blog series dedicated to the most common areas I hear after those four words that let me know our job is not complete.  Hopefully it will help patients prepare for their next visit and their four last words will be “thanks, I get it!”

An Insider’s Perspective on “Getting Roomed”

When you go see your ortho doc, you know there will be lots of paperwork and a little waiting.  if you plan to use your health insurance to pay for your visit.  What may surprise you is that there are lots of requirements for the office to meet during the short time you are in our office. These requirements are due to government and insurance regulations which grows more robust each year.  It is easy for our patients to feel like they are asked the same questions electronically, on forms, or by our staff and that’s frustrating to say the least.

The intake process begins when you walk through the front door and includes all the steps getting you prepared for the doctor to enter the room. During this stage, there are some required and important things that happen like, getting your height and weight recorded, reviewing your medications and verifying your pharmacy.  I’ll cover the “why” on the height and weight in a future post, but I do believe this step is important.  For this short blog post, I want to focus on how to win with intake. One tip during this phase is to be aware and accurate of your own information in advance of your appointment- this speeds things up for you when you are with us. This includes gathering the actual medical records, imaging discs and reports, and being patient with the staff as they collect it all in order to accurately document in your medical record and to give me the vital information I need to know to treat you.

In my office, we also ask you to participate with clinical outcomes tracking, which means we use surveys that collect Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO’s).  While answering digital questions may seem slow, these surveys actually help us understand the true impact of your sports injury or condition.  Stay tuned for another blog post dedicated to these PRO’s.

Once you’ve made it to your private room, it is your chance to tell your story.  Your story matters and the team is trained to interview you in a way that keeps your visit moving along.  They are sports medicine experts known as Certified Athletic Trainers (ATC).   I’ve instructed them on which questions to ask and how to ask them.  These include questions about you as a person, your activity goals and challenges, how you’ve found my office, and your goals for the visit.  A tip for this rooming interview: I do ask the staff what you told them and your answers will help us streamline your visit and focus the needed evaluation and discussion.  This includes sharing with the staff what questions you will want answered; if they can answer them right away, your visit is already ahead of the game!

A last tip is about picking the best attire for the visit.  Even if you have an appointment on a work or school day, consider bringing a gym bag with exercise shorts and a top that provides you with coverage for sensitive areas but allows the team to examine the affected body part.  You can certainly use the room to change into your exam clothing after the staff completes their interview- we do have paper shorts and gowns if you forget, so don’t stress!

At this point, you’ve been “roomed” and hopefully you have already put yourself and our team in the best position to understand you as a person and get to work on your behalf!

We are happily accepting new patients, schedule your appointment today!
About the author:

John Christoforetti, MD is an orthopedic sports surgeon at Maryland Orthopedic Specialists specializing in arthroscopic surgery of the hip, shoulder and knee.  He is a black belt martial artist, boxing champion, and author of over 50 original peer-reviewed publications and studies the results of his surgery by patients’ own reports.  In 1998 a severe ankle injury ended his competitive martial arts career and taught him the principles of adaptive comeback.  He lectures on the role of mind body and spirit in recovery from surgery and serves as consultant to elite athletes and active individuals from around the world.