It looks the New England Patriots are heading for another strong season. This may sound familiar because they have been consistently winning year after year. I do not claim to be a Patriots fan, but I certainly admire their commitment to success. They have created a culture that fosters excellence. When evaluating this organization, it is clear that there is no one single element that leads to winning. It is a combination of coaching, player skill, and development, execution of schemes along with an organizational mission that brings these elements into a single-minded goal.
Our team at CHARM fosters a similar culture of success. The game that each and every one of us at CHARM aims to win is that of pain relief and functional improvement for our patients.
While there are several variables that factor into successful treatment, we are able to optimize results by utilizing several qualities that make our clinic uniquely qualified for regenerative medicine.
Our physicians have a solid foundation in musculoskeletal and pain medicine. This specialization training is coupled with an ongoing thirst for improvement in our ever-evolving field. Our providers all have extensive experience in regenerative medicine. This helps us choose the best treatments for each individual situation and gives us a better understanding of the regenerative medicine process. The years of experience also gives us a unique perspective on long-term patient outcomes and enables us to navigate the ever-changing landscape of the field. We are expert diagnosticians who are able to employ a myriad of tools to distill the correct pain generator. We utilize excellent exam skills, information from electrodiagnostic testing, and evaluation of advanced imaging. The physicians also rely on the insights of our in-house physical therapists. Our PT’s have several hours of one-on-one time with patients. This enables them to better understand how dysfunctional movement, and muscle-firing, patterns contribute to tissue damage.
Our team is rounded out by those in several crucially important positions. Our front-desk personnel is akin to the unsung offensive line. They are the first, and last, staff members to interact with patients. In between, they facilitate patient/doctor interactions and triage patient questions and concerns. They stay up to date on changes in billing and coding so that they may constantly advocate for our patients with payment issues. Our medical assistants (MA) ensure streamlined patient care by keeping the clinic running smoothly. The MAs operate the imaging machines, field patients’ questions, and concerns, and providing comfort during, and after, procedures. Each one of these team members consistently shows unparalleled care and dedication beyond their titles and pre-determined roles. They do this because they care about the people they serve and their success. Finding this team is the hardest part of a successful clinic, and I can say this is the best group I have ever been a part of!
During procedures, our medical providers are able to utilize advanced image-guidance equipment, such as ultrasound and fluoroscopy (X-ray), to ensure the treatments get to the right spot. We perform the treatments in dedicated procedure suites that allow top-notch care without the additional cost, or inconvenience, of using an ambulatory surgery center or hospital.
Our in-house lab is another feature that is critical to successful clinical outcomes. We have spent years developing and fine-tuning our processes in order to optimize our proprietary techniques. This allows us to utilize hand-processed biologic products that are less expensive, provide a higher yield, and are often-times a better overall quality compared to processes that use an off-the-shelf “kit” that other clinics use. We have hand-chosen our phlebotomists and laboratory technicians who now produce excellent biologic products that are safe and pure.
CHARM’s business model is driven by positive patient outcomes. This is antithetical to clinical models that are driven by profit margins. This model relies on a patient mill with a one-size-fits-all approach. The latter is a paradigm that ultimately perpetuates much of the cynicism that pervades our medical system. We, at CHARM, pride ourselves on the time we take with our patients to thoroughly evaluate them and provide education on the treatment options available to them. The bottom line is that we are a medical clinic that does not base care on the bottom line! Like the NE Patriots, this approach has helped to create an organization that is focused on success with staying power.
Ben Rawson, DO
