Grace Internal Medicine wants patients to be an active part of their healthcare
By Mike Danahey
Dr. Leon Buffaloe, Jr. and the staff at Grace Internal Medicine stress medical care that puts an emphasis on patients and patient decisions.
“This is healthcare that prioritizes the well-being and autonomy of the patient,” Buffaloe said. “It recognizes the importance of involving patients in their own care and empowering them to make informed decisions about their health.”
This approach is about having a strong doctor-patient relationship, Buffaloe said. It recognizes that patients are the experts of their own bodies and addresses not only the physical aspects of health, but also the emotional, psychological, spiritual and social dimensions.
The patient-centered approach starts with cultural competence. There must be an importance in understanding and respecting the cultural backgrounds, values and beliefs of patients.
Goals of the patient-centered approach include improving health literacy and communication with patients. Getting patients to better understand how to care for their chronic illnesses affects their care, Buffaloe said.
The approach recognizes and works to address disparities in quality due to bias, stereotype and unequal treatment. For chronic disease management, medical professionals need to realize and address the fact that many cannot afford to have treatments for the diseases they have due to access issues, the cost of medicine and unhealthy living conditions.
As such, Grace Internal Medicine believes that patient education extends past periodic visits or treatment. Its team provides ongoing, personalized care plans for all of its patients.
This differs from the old approach people might be used to, a more paternalistic way where the physician was the one doing all the talking. Some patients still like to be told what to do and have no questions, Buffaloe said, and in some cases the traditional approach is best.
But in his immediate vicinity of patient care, Buffaloe and other medical professionals fully understand the patient-centered approach.
“Patient-centered care involves patients being active participants in their own care. I like to empower my patients to take charge of their health,” Buffaloe said.
This being the Information Age, Buffaloe feels that patient-centered healthcare is becoming more of the norm. The younger generation doesn’t want to be talked down to and wants to actively participate, forcing doctors to take the patient-centered approach.
“It’s really all about having that conversation and knowing your patients,” Buffaloe said.
This approach also means doctors’ offices often find themselves having to fight with health insurance companies to get patient coverage for the recommended course of treatment, which takes a lot of work.
The nonpatient-centered approach meant taking what the insurance company recommended, whereas the patient-centered approach means having to do more paperwork.
It means making more phone calls to get the right medicine for the right illness at the right cost. Toward that, Grace Internal Medicine has staff that calls insurers for authorization on medicines. Those discussions frequently involve why doctors won’t prescribe a cheaper version of a medication. Buffaloe said the cheaper version often isn’t the best or most effective option.
Procedures are denied all the time from insurance, too, Buffaloe said. So he finds himself often having peer-to-peer discussions with an insurance company’s physician liaison, going back and forth over why Buffaloe is doing a particular test and not trying therapy or other options first.
“We must fight for what’s right for our patients,” Buffaloe said.
As for his own path to becoming a doctor and an advocate for his patients, Buffalo said God led him to pursue a career in internal medicine.
At 18 years old, he left home in Maryland to become a U.S. Army Combat Medic. During 12 years of active duty, he served in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Restore Hope, as well as during the Iraq War. After his tour to Somalia, Buffaloe was accepted into the Army’s Licensed Practical Nurse Program and continued working across various areas of nursing.
In 1999, Buffaloe met his wife, Assante, then an Army surgical technologist, while on tour in Honduras. She is now a family medicine physician.
Buffaloe graduated Cum Laude in Biological Studies from the University of South Carolina in 2004 and went on to graduate from the University’s School of Medicine in 2008.
After graduating and completing his residency at Palmetto Health Richland (now PRISMA Health Richland) Buffaloe worked as a physician with SELF Regional in Laurens and eventually moved to Simpsonville to help open a clinic for PRISMA Health Upstate.
Then, more than 10 years ago, Buffaloe used his experience to build Grace Internal Medicine, an independent practice with an affiliate partner in the Medical University of South Carolina.
Being a doctor, Buffaloe believes health equity means improving access to care by placing clinics in underserved communities and providing transportation when needed; utilizing technology; offering telehealth services; providing and recognizing diversity; and having cultural sensitivity.
Those who go into medicine should also have a heart for people, all people. They must see people as a whole, Buffaloe said.
Further, universities and medical schools must do a better job of screening applicants to understand their backgrounds. Admissions officers need to discern if those potential students truly have a heart for people or if they just want the prestige and money of being in healthcare.
An essential question to ask any candidate should be, if they paid a doctor a teachers’ wages, would that person still go into the profession, Buffaloe said.
