AF4Q in the News: Work of Dr. Alan Glaseroff Featured on NPR Series on Health Care

Dr. Alan Glaseroff, co-project director of the Humboldt County AF4Q Alliance, was featured recently on National Public Radio (NPR) for his work on patients with traumatic backgrounds and chronic conditions. Glaseroff is challenging the old paradigm of chronic disease management—he believes a person’s whole story comes into play in treatment. The NPR piece is part of a series called Diagnosis:Camden.

Nationally, Glaseroff is known for his work in innovative care delivery for patients with chronic and complex disease. As quoted in the NPR piece, Glaseroff said, “This work begins by asking the question, 'Why wouldn’t a person with a chronic condition do everything in their power to live long and feel well? And generally there is sort of a subtext, 'What is wrong with this person, they are not listening to me.'”

Social and psychological conditions are important factors when treating a patient. By listening to a patient without judgment, a technique called motivational interviewing, nurses and physicians can learn about the root causes of certain behaviors and identify hurdles to better health. This is a method that can help providers connect with patients who are tough to reach. Through understanding a patient’s story, they can develop better care plans—ones that make sense for the patient.

This approach has helped shave 20 percent off his patients’ medical costs, said Glaseroff. He hopes to see the model expand to other states. At his clinic, Stanford Coordinated Care, Glaseroff sees 160 privately insured patients, who racked up $58,000 a year, on average, in medical bills before he began treating them.

The full article can be found at http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/diagnosis-camden/when-your-symptoms-dont-tell-whole-story.