Victoria – After only one year in operation, RebalanceMD, a physician-owned and operated interdisciplinary orthopaedic care clinic, has more than doubled the number of patient consultations per month and reduced consultation wait times by almost 90% according to RebalanceMD CEO Stefan Fletcher.
“RebalanceMD was created to address the long wait times patients with musculoskeletal issues were facing,” Fletcher explained. “Our new model of healthcare delivery is designed to quickly assess and triage patients referred by their own doctors to our team of specialists.”
Every orthopaedic surgeon in Victoria – 18 in total – works out of RebalanceMD’s 11,000 square foot purpose-built facility, as well as two physical and rehabilitation medicine doctors, five sports medicine physicians, an osteoporosis expert and seven physiotherapists. Fletcher says their FAAST model (First Available Appropriate Specialist Triage) has reduced referral times from 18-24 months to 90 days or less for all referrals over the past 12 months.
“Our system was born out of a conversation at the side of a kids’ soccer pitch one afternoon,” Fletcher, a physiotherapist explained. “Pat McAllister, one of our orthopaedic surgeons and I were watching our kids play and got talking about how to improve the chaotic, uncoordinated system of care our patients face.”
With funding from the Specialist Services Committee, a partnership of the Doctors of BC and the BC Ministry of Health, RebalanceMD has delivered impressive results in its first year of operation – getting about 1,200 referrals a month and managing over 18,000 patient visits so far.
David Whitelaw, a RebalanceMD patient who recently had a knee replacement, says, “What particularly struck me is their unique team approach. I was assessed and provided with treatment recommendations in record time. Following my surgery, I’ve benefitted from timely follow up from the consultant and a nurse, as well as a rehabilitation program with their physiotherapists. Their collaborative approach provided me with seamless treatment and support from start to finish.”
Fletcher, along with other leaders in healthcare, will be a featured speaker at the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Rebalancing Healthcare panels Feb. 28 at the Hyatt Regency.
Contact:
Stefan Fletcher, CEO
250.940.4444, ext 6