Responsible Interdisciplinary Practice A team approach to improving patients’ health By Maria DiDanieli feature “E ach of us has the responsibility to ourselves and to our country to do our part in decreasing our country’s high expenditures on health care, and decreasing the burden on the system, by promoting . . . well-being.” 1 This quote by Osborn, Jones, et al., is reflected in the vision and daily operations at the Oshawa Health Centre in south-central Ontario. The clinic’s founder, Dr. Adrian Pet-tyan, is a chiropractor whose previous years of experience in practice brought home, for him, the importance of delivering health care that actually addresses the goal of achiev-ing better health, rather than being centred on the management of isolated symptom patterns. Dr. Pettyan’s vision is rooted in a sense of responsibility to the individual patient as well as to the community and the health-care system. As a chiropractor, that may begin with delivering an adjustment, but then must include educating patients toward better overall health. Furthermore, he feels that this can best be done while working within an integrative collaborative team, with full transparency and fluidity among practitioners who are focused on delivering patient-centred wellness care. Finally, Dr. Pettyan finds that practising responsible and prudent use of technology, and other expensive health-care services, could serve to demonstrate to patients and clinicians alike which options are necessary and which might be considered superfluous or costly – but without added benefit, thus, adding to the burden on the health care system. Some years ago, armed with this vision, Dr. Pettyan partnered with Dr. Hamilton Jeyaraj, a family physician who trained in England and the United States, and whose practice philosophy was perfectly aligned with the clinic’s intent. From there, a for-midable multidisciplinary team was built – and continues to grow. Today, housed in a four-storey building owned by Pettyan, the clinic enjoys an ongoing expansion of services aimed at offering high-quality, integrated health and wellness support for the Oshawa community. Continued on Page 32 28 • CANADiAN CHiROPRACTOR | FEBRUARY 2011 www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor February 2011: Page 28
