Our Daily Show Interview! Associated Physicians Group: Dr. Green: Enhanced Wellness Care
ALTON – The Enhanced Wellness Care program at Associated Physicians Group in Alton guarantees personalized, comprehensive care.
Dr. Christopher Green, an internal medicine physician at Associated Physicians Group, explained that the office’s Enhanced Wellness Care program invites patients to pay an annual membership fee and receive longer appointments, after-hours access to Green via his personal cell phone, and same-day or next-day appointments. Green believes the program is a great way to take control of your health.
“It’s really, I think, the future of good, advanced primary care medicine,” Green said. “There’s convenience items, and then there are advanced care items that, in a traditional 15-minute visit, you just really can’t get into.”
Access is a primary aspect of the Enhanced Wellness Care program. Green carries a cell phone that patients can call or text 24/7. He will respond or connect you to someone at the office who can take care of your issue, whether that’s scheduling a refill or an appointment.
The Enhanced Wellness Care program guarantees same-day or next-day appointments. This means it’s easier to get into the office or make a telemedicine appointment and receive care as soon as possible.
“We have really short-circuited, for this population, the need to use urgent care facilities and, in many cases, the need to go to the emergency room, because we can get on it right away,” Green said.
He can also coordinate with patients who do need to utilize the emergency room by calling ahead and warning the hospital that a patient is on their way. Green has received positive feedback from patients, who say that a simple phone call from him has cut their wait times and led to immediate care in the ER.
Additionally, Enhanced Wellness Care program patients have appointments that are twice as long, lasting 30–60 minutes. This allows Green to emphasize education and preventative care. He can sit down with patients and go over medications, exercise plans, or other aspects of their care with them.
“People are more likely to take their medication when they understand why,” he explained. “They’re more likely to make lifestyle modifications when they understand how and why we recommend that.”
Patients only see Green, never another doctor or nurse practitioner, so he has the opportunity to get to know his patients and develop a personal relationship with them. As part of this, he also explores “pioneer medicine” with these patients, looking into new recommendations, articles and tests that patients can utilize for more comprehensive healthcare.
He sometimes recommends complimentary visits to the Associated Physicians Group physical therapist department, or he might scan a patient’s body composition on their machine and talk the patient through what this scan reveals. The Enhanced Wellness Care program allows Green to focus on these more specialized aspects of healthcare with patients.
As Green concentrates more on the Enhanced Wellness Care side of the Associated Physicians Group office, he encourages people to visit the official webpage to learn more about the program and decide if it’s right for them. He noted that he enjoys working with these patients and helping them experience personalized care.
“I’m really excited about it. Personally, I’m getting a lot of professional reward for myself with some of the great success stories we’ve had with a handful of patients,” he added. “I really do like what I do.”
To learn more about Dr. Christopher Green or the other services offered at Associated Physicians Group, visit their official website at AssociatedPhysicians.com.
