As a life-threatening emergency, cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops pumping blood to the vital organs and tissues. It causes loss of consciousness, absence of pulse, and cessation of breathing. In the absence of immediate treatment, cardiac arrest can result in death within minutes. There are many reasons for cardiac arrest, including heart disease, arrhythmia, trauma, drug overdose, and electric shock.
For a fixed monthly fee, patients have unlimited access to their primary care physician through direct primary care (DPC). It is possible for DPC physicians to offer a variety of benefits to patients with cardiac arrest, since they do not accept insurance or third-party payments. This reduces administrative costs and allows them to focus on providing personalized care.
Patients can reach their physician by phone, email, text, or video chat at any time to get timely and convenient care. This can help patients with cardiac arrest get prompt evaluation and treatment, along with follow-up care and monitoring, as well as same-day or next-day appointments without long waits or referrals.
Coordinated and comprehensive care: DPC physicians can provide a wide range of services for cardiac arrest, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), defibrillation, advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), post-resuscitation care, and referral. Additionally, they can coordinate care with specialists, such as cardiologists, emergency doctors, or intensive care physicians. Additionally, DPC physicians can help patients with cardiac arrest navigate the complex and costly health care system.
By educating patients about cardiac arrest prevention strategies, DPC physicians can help them prevent further episodes and complications. These strategies include avoiding tobacco use, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels, managing diabetes and other chronic conditions, taking prescribed medications, and leading a healthy lifestyle. Through counseling, support groups, referrals, and resources, they can also address the physical, emotional, and social aspects of cardiac arrest recovery.
Research has shown that DPC patients have lower rates of hospitalization, emergency department visits, specialist consultations, and diagnostic tests than traditional fee-for-service patients. As a result, patients with cardiac arrest may have better outcomes, including higher survival rates, fewer complications, less brain damage, and better quality of life.
Lower costs: DPC patients pay a fixed monthly fee that covers most of their primary care needs. Additionally, they benefit from lower prices for medications, labs, imaging studies, and procedures offered by DPC physicians and their partners. By doing so, patients with cardiac arrest can avoid surprises or hidden fees and save money on their health care expenses.
DPC patients report higher satisfaction with their primary care experience than fee-for-service patients. They appreciate the longer and more frequent visits with their physician, the enhanced communication and trust, the personalized and attentive care, and the reduced hassle and stress.
Every patient's cardiac arrest management approach can be tailored to meet their unique needs and preferences by DPC physicians. As part of CPR, they can perform chest compressions alone, chest compressions with rescue breaths, and chest compressions with bag-mask ventilation. Depending on the patient's condition and response, they can also adjust the frequency and duration. If available, an automated external defibrillator (AED) or a manual defibrillator can be used to perform defibrillation.
DPC physicians can also provide ACLS for patients with cardiac arrest. They can assist with airway management, intravenous access, rhythm analysis, drug administration, electrical therapy, and pulse checks. As well as hypothermia therapy, neuroprotection, and stem cell therapy, they can also recommend complementary therapies for cardiac arrest recovery.
Additionally, DPC physicians provide post-resuscitation care for cardiac arrest survivors, including hemodynamic stabilization, ventilation optimization, metabolic correction, infection prevention, neurological assessment, and rehabilitation planning.
As Benjamin Franklin said,
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Physicians in the DPC can help cardiac arrest patients avoid further harm and achieve optimal health and well-being.
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