Elizabeth Hedlund: “Don’t Give Up Hope”

In this week's episode of Take Charge with HELPcare, Physician Assistant Elizabeth Hedlund shares why traditional family medicine practice had left her feeling "really burned out" and caused her to search for an alternative, which she found at HELPcare Clinic in Austin.

She also describes why the experience in direct primary care, and particularly at HELPcare Clinic, is better for both practitioners and for patients. Here are highlights:

I think the best part of my job is when I am one-on-one with somebody in the exam room, getting to know them, talking about their concerns and their questions, and then just helping them find solutions, helping them navigate a path that is going to help them feel better and live better optimally.

There are lot of differences. It's hard to even know where to start, but I think one of the main things is just time, the time factor with patients, the time factor to do things outside of patient care. Because in the constraints of the system, you're stuck with a short appointment. And one of the things I love about working with people is just the education piece of it and really talking about, “OK, you're having these symptoms, but where are these symptoms coming from?” And then you figure that out and then you really know how to help somebody. 

But (in large health systems) when somebody comes in and you have 15 minutes to talk with them, the quickest thing you can do to maybe help them feel better is give them a prescription. And so then they're just taking more and more medicine and then, and not necessarily getting to the root of the problem or even really feeling better. 

So time is a huge, huge one. And that also just gives you a chance to get to know people. And that's ultimately important because if they, if you get to know them, you build a relationship, you build trust. And then everybody's more confident in moving forward together. So that's big.

Watch the full episode on YouTube, or subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts for the audio version.

Elizabeth is also featured along with our other practitioners in a new video that highlights the key differences between the current U.S. health care system and the HELPcare approach:

If you're a physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant or other health care professional who resonates with this approach to primary care, we'd love to have a conversation with you about being part of the HELPcare Clinic team. Check out our HELPcare Careers page.

If this type of care is what you've been looking for as a patient, see how our membership approach can work for you.

If you're an employer looking for better care for your employees while keeping health plan costs under control, learn more about Health Insurance with HELPcare.

Share this:

Lee Aase

Lee Aase is the founder of HELPcare LLC, which provides comprehensive membership, marketing and management services for provider-owned HELPcare Clinics, as well as metabolic health education and coaching for people interested in restoring health and reversing disease through lifestyle changes. Lee and his wife Lisa live in Austin, MN and have six married children and 19 grandchildren.