Private Health’s Immediate Care services are available to patients who have recently been diagnosed with a serious illness or chronic health condition and require an intensive approach to address their medical needs.
"Mr. S," a 59-year-old resident of Palm Beach, Florida, had long had a degenerative cardiovascular disease. But when his cardiologist recommended a heart valve replacement, he retained Private Health to seek out a better option if at all possible. Mr. S was well aware of the risks inherent in open-heart surgery as well as the difficulty in managing the medications typically required for life after a valve replacement.
Within three days of our first conversation with Mr. S, we were able to arrange for him to speak personally to the three cardiothoracic surgeons in the US most expert in treating cases similar to his. All had been personally briefed by Mr. S’s Private Health lead physician. One of the surgeons, "Dr. L," suggested that it might be possible to repair the valve, rather than replace it. As that involved a minimally invasive approach rather than open-heart surgery and would not require the same difficult post-operative drug regimen as a replacement, it was our recommendation that Dr. L perform Mr. S’s surgery. We also made special arrangements to have Dr. L personally perform the procedure, rather than having it executed by a surgical fellow under his supervision.
Less than a week later, Mr. S was in surgery, where his heart valve turned out to be in even worse condition than originally thought. But Dr. L’s technical skills enabled him to successfully perform the repair. Just 14 days after calling Private Health, Mr. S was back in Florida, living comfortably, feeling considerably better, and looking forward to a long-planned vacation in China.