Here’s the story of how Dr. Sean’s personal “patient” experience reinforced four BIG conclusions that should get us all thinking about what we should expect from our healthcare system.

#1. Superior Acute Care

Even though his clinic is holistic, he appreciates the amazing care western medicine has to offer. Our country has some of the best physicians for acute, traumatic care of this kind. He was in good hands and the procedure was a success. For this particular injury,  it became evident that it was time to seek a specialist. Dr. Sean had attempted to heal through natural methods but it was confirmed only surgical repair would work to heal the hernia.   “My consultation with both the physician and the general surgeon on separate occasions was excellent,” Dr. Sean commented. Each was extremely competent and compassionate.  I left feeling very confident in their skill in repairing the hernia and convinced I was being provided the right care.” ‘

#2. Lack of Transparency

After that impressive meeting with the physician and surgeon, Dr. Sean did what everyone else would do and ask the question “Hmmm…I’m in the right hands, but what will this procedure will cost me?”  He asked his wife, Rebecca, to call and get the procedure scheduled and ALSO ask the cost.  (Note: Dr. Sean fully understood that costs cannot be 100% predicted). After a cat and mouse game of questions, the Hospital finally and sheepishly responded, “We cannot provide the cost of the procedure” and referred Rebecca to her Insurance company.  Rebecca attempted to call the Insurance company but was put on hold and disconnected after reaching the maximum 30-minute hold time.

As Dr. Sean puts it, “I went from elated (with my doctor experience), to completely exasperated when I asked for the price and could not get a straight answer. Why is this so hard to answer? Is this what we get in return for our $20K annual deductible….a 30-minute hold time and then no one to speak with?” Bottom line, pricing for any healthcare services should be transparent.  Not unlike a dentist who performs a filling or an eye doctor who prescribes glasses.  $400K is the amount the average person spends a lifetime on healthcare. According to Dr. Sean, “We’re buying a Pacer but paying Ferrari prices for our healthcare.” He adds, “McCaffrey Center provides full price transparency for all services. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

#3. Marriage of Modern Medicine & Natural Healing

Dr. Sean was told that recovery should take 8-10 weeks.  Even a minor surgery is a stress on the body: pre and post care is key to recovery. Fully expecting to be at work the very next week, Dr. Sean married his own natural healing remedies with the advice of his doctor for the best results. He took it easy and got plenty of rest. But he also digested plenty of protease enzymes to help his body repair. The result?  Pain free and no drugs needed.  “For too long, there’s been this strong divide between modern medicine and natural remedies.  The truth is, they can both co-exist in harmony to help the body heal better and recover faster,” shares Dr. Sean.

#4. Broken Health Care Model for Chronic, Degenerative Disease

Borne out of medical triage for catastrophic injuries during the Civil War, it should come as no surprise that the sweet spot for our current healthcare system is in treating acute injury and infective diseases. We’re the best in the world for ER treatment. Sadly, according to the World Health Organization, we are 42nd in the world in treating in chronic, degenerative diseases.  And according to WHO, 88% of the deaths in 2016 were caused by Chronic, Degenerative diseases.  The medical model is broken when it comes to treating people with long-standing conditions for which they take costly prescriptions, such as chronic pain, anxiety & depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, stress management just to name a few. This is where our current system is broken.  We are treating the condition instead of looking at the mechanical, emotional and nutritional causes that underlie the condition and working back to restore normal.  This is where McCaffrey Health Center shines, using diagnostic testing to determine the underlying cause of a condition and applying the McCaffrey Method to gradually restore normal body function and reduce the dependencies on our current healthcare model.