Comprehensive Health Evaluation for the Best Stem Cell Outcome
By: Edward G. Loniewski, DO, FACOS, FAOAO
What is A Comprehensive Health Evaluation?
Every patient who comes to us has a unique story, set of circumstances, goals and physical findings. Our job is to understand these unique and exciting factors for each individual patient and present a set of viable options to choose from so each patient can navigate through the options and make the best choice for them.
We evaluate all aspects of a patient’s health, including social, family, and personal lifestyle preferences. Each aspect of a patient’s life will have an impact on the ideal options for their treatment; what might work very well for someone with similar physical findings may not be the best choice for another patient. For this reason, we strive to find the best solution for every patient’s specific condition and modify treatment for each unique situation.
How Does a Comprehensive Health Evaluation Work?
As a patient, you will be asked to complete a set of questions regarding your current medical condition, as well as your past medical history. We will be very interested in your social, familial, and work history. We will inquire about your specific goals of treatment, and ask numerous questions about pain, including the quality, intensity and special conditions surrounding your symptoms, as well as what may increase or decrease the symptoms.
We will walk you through an extensive yet focused physical exam, which will include an evaluation of your gait, muscle strength, nerve function, circulation, skin, ligaments and tendons. We will review your x-rays and any other diagnostic tests with you so that you may personally view and understand the results.
After determining your potential diagnosis, we will discuss the potential options for treatment, which may include both surgical and non-surgical options. At this time, we will also go over the risks and benefits of each option presented, allowing you to make an informed decision on the best option to fit your specific situations.
Please keep in mind that at times, we do not have all the information required to make a decision, and may need to order additional tests such as an MRI or lab tests prior to making a treatment commitment. At other times, a patient may need to think more about their decision and/or discuss this with family or trusted friends. Because of this, we may choose to provide you with written descriptions of your options, describing the risks and benefits of each option in depth. We can then schedule a follow up visit where a patient can ask more questions, or bring a family member along to participate in further in-depth discussions.
What Makes the Comprehensive Health Evaluation Effective?
Cellular Healing has found that by respecting and integrating the unique and special social, familial, and work situations into a shared decision model, patients are much more likely to follow through with their treatment plan. Integrating a multifaceted and flexible approach which allows each patient to be part of the overall decision process helps our patients to make and maintain significant changes in their lives.
By utilizing written goal-setting techniques and simple lifestyle change suggestions, we help our patients to build confidence and compliance in their course of treatment. With an aim to foster trusting and lifelong relationships between doctor and client, we have successfully treated thousands of patients over the course of 20 years by using these techniques.
If you would like a face to face consultation with Dr. Loniewski, please call 810-299-8552 to schedule an appointment.
Further Reading:
Goal Setting and Osteoarthritis- (Garver MJ, Focht BC, Taylor SJ. Integrating lifestyle approaches into osteoarthritis care. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. 2015;8:409-418. doi:10.2147/JMDH.S71273.)
Shared Decision Model – (Stacey D, Hawker G, Dervin G, et al. Improving shared decision making in osteoarthritis. BMJ : British Medical Journal. 2008;336(7650):954-955. doi:10.1136/bmj.39520.701748.94.)