Improving Patient Outcomes Through Co-Managed Care

Michael Jula, DC recently experienced an opportunity to change a patient’s perspective on chiropractic care and also teach his students a valuable lesson. As an instructor and clinician at the Montgomery Health Center on Logan’s campus, Dr. Jula works to provide successful outcomes for patients, such as Elizabeth Koch, who came to the clinic with severe lower back pain.

“Chiropractic was my third option for addressing my back pain. I tried two other options first, and I went in to my chiropractic appointment with low expectations for easing my pain,” she said. “However, I have never been treated as well by any other medical practitioner, and I have had wonderful results in reducing my pain to almost nothing through chiropractic care.”

Dr. Jula and trimester 9 student clinician Rebecca Street started seeing Elizabeth in June and quickly realized they had to address her lower back pain as well as refer her to a neurologist for unrelated issues. Elizabeth had been to other doctors and tried other modalities, including physical therapy, and hadn’t seen any results nor received recommendations for next steps.

“An important skill I try to teach my students is that sometimes the right course of treatment is co-management with another provider,” Dr. Jula said. “When making medical decisions, you don’t always have to be the treating physician to make a good decision for your patient.”