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Rochester, Mich. – August 23, 2023 – MedNetOne Health Solutions (MedNetOne) CEO and co-founder Ewa Matuszewski presented on the topic of palliative care at the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) Conference and Expo, which took place August 12–15 at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. MedNetOne Health Solutions—a health care management and physician organization offering infrastructure, technology, and clinical services to nearly 1,000 private practice physicians and other independent care providers—champions innovative primary and chronic care initiatives through the Patient-Center Medical Home (PCHM) model.
As part of the day-one kick-off, Matuszewski’s session—Weaving Palliative Care into Primary Care—centered on defining palliative care, increasingly known as serious illness care, and its significance as part of a multi-disciplinary and holistic team approach in managing patients’ primary care. Matuszewski noted there are many misconceptions surrounding serious illness care and discussed how individuals needing care are not necessarily near death. Rather, their conditions are serious enough and best managed with the assistance of a care team that can steer patients with chronic conditions – or their family members – to a higher level of care.
“Serious illness care is not about the last six months of life, as many erroneously believe,” Matuszewski said. “It is about caring for patients with serious illness from diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive lung disease and heart failure to depression and anxiety. Many of Michigan’s Patient-Centered Medical Homes embed multidisciplinary teams to facilitate holistic symptom management, coordination of care, and advance care planning—and serious illness care should absolutely be included in that process.”
More than 200 family physicians, family medicine residents, medical students, presenters, guests, exhibitors, and sponsors gathered at the 2023 MAFP Conference & Expo. This year’s theme, “Celebrating 75 Years,” honored the rich history of MAFP. Chartered in 1948, the Michigan chapter had 513 members in its first year and by 1950, membership had grown to more than 3,000 members. Since MAFP’s founding, the U.S. healthcare system has undergone tremendous change—as has the practice of family medicine. MAFP’s dedication to its mission of supporting family physicians and their practices as they work to ensure high-quality, cost-effective, physician-led and team-based healthcare for patients of all ages has remained steadfast through these dramatic changes in healthcare.
About MedNetOne Health Solutions (MedNetOne)
Based in Rochester, Mich., MedNetOne Health Solutions is a physician organization supporting its independent practice members with the infrastructure, technology and clinical support necessary to provide fully integrated, population-based, patient-centric care. Committed to community-based care and coordinated care through multi-disciplinary teams, MedNetOne collaborates with payors, nonprofits and community groups to develop and implement primary care initiatives that address preventive care, chronic conditions and the social determinants of health and positively impact health outcomes. Learn more here.