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Mondays with your MD – Urinary Tract Infections: Separating Fact from Fiction

2022-07-17T13:40:09+00:00July 17th, 2022|Adults, Families, Family Practice, Health Care, Urgent Care|

Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, are extremely common, especially in women. Dealing with them is no fun and often requires frequent trips to the bathroom, pain when urinating, and soreness in the lower abdomen, back or sides. Many turn to at-home remedies to tackle discomfort or try to change risky behaviors to avoid a repeat infection.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of myths out there about UTIs that can make recognizing the causes and finding effective relief difficult.

Separating Fact From Fiction

Myth #1: Taking AZO for my UTI is “Good Enough”

Although AZO may provide symptomatic relief, it can often mask underlying symptoms and delay seeking appropriate medical care.  In addition, it can cause discoloration of urine making the infection more difficult to detect on examination.

Myth #2: Tampons Cause UTIs

Some women think tampons make them more prone to developing UTIs since tampons are placed inside the body, while other feminine hygiene products are kept outside of the body. However, tampon use may be even more effective at preventing UTIs than pads. Tampons can keep the area dryer, leaving less of a chance for bacteria to flourish and cutting down on the risk of infection.

Myth #3: Cranberry Juice Will Cure My UTI

The cranberry juice cure is one of the most commonly believed myths about treating UTIs. However, don’t for a minute think that a bottle of cranberry juice can replace a visit to your doctor or proper medication. It turns out cranberry juice isn’t nearly as effective as many people think.

Though some studies have demonstrated potential ability to prevent (not treat) symptomatic UTIs, there isn’t sufficient data to support routinely recommending it.

Myth #4: Only Women Get UTIs

Women definitely get UTIs more often than men. This is because the urethra, the duct that carries urine out of the body, is shorter in women, allowing bacteria to more easily reach the bladder. However, this is still a myth, as men can and do get UTIs. UTIs are more common in men who have not been circumcised and suffer from other medical issues including incontinence, prostate cancer or urinary tract stones.

Myth #5: Sex Causes UTIs

This one is both a myth and a fact. The real myth lies in the belief that only sexually active women get UTIs. Sex can definitely play a role, though, as bacteria near the vagina can inadvertently get into the urethra during sexual contact. Urinating after sex is CRUCIAL because it will allow your body to flush out vaginal bacteria that tends to get pushed into the urethra during sex.

Does this mean that abstinence is a sure-fire way to protect yourself from UTIs? Think again. In fact, women are most at risk for getting UTIs while pregnant or experiencing menopause or perimenopause. This is due to the change of hormones in the urinary tract during these times.

Talk to your doctor about UTI symptoms and appropriate treatment.

Mondays with your MD – Telemedicine: Back to the Future

2022-07-11T13:33:18+00:00July 11th, 2022|Adults, Direct Primary Care, Family Practice, Health Care, Telemedicine|

Reminiscent of a time where patients could receive medical advice by simply calling their doctor on the phone….telemedicine, popularized with the pandemic, has always been a structured integral part of Direct Primary Care (DPC). Virtual care has been shown to increase access to health care and lead to improved health outcomes when utilized correctly.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine allows for an ongoing dialogue between patients and physicians about shared health goals and decision-making. This improves adherence to the medical plan of care by providing a platform for a collaborative approach to health, where chronic conditions can be managed.

Telemedicine provides flexibility for scheduling and eliminates barriers between physicians and patients. Follow up appointments are made easier by removing travel times, childcare concerns, and time off work.

Virtual consultations can prevent unnecessary in-person referrals to specialists and lead to shorter waiting times to see specialists.

Telemedicine has always been a structured integral part of (DPC). When patients have an urgent care need or a follow up concern from previous visits, DPC physicians are able to quickly troubleshoot those problems with patients and determine the best course of action for each individual.

Mondays with your MD – Women’s Rights to Reproductive Health Care in 2022

2022-07-03T18:04:48+00:00July 3rd, 2022|Adults, Family Practice, Health Care, Pregnancy, Public Health|

I am grateful today that I live in Illinois, but I do not believe access to health care should depend on where a woman is residing within the US. The disruption to appropriate health care for women has caused chaos in caring for women who are pregnant, and ultimately will lead to preventable deaths of women that will affect the entire nation for generations.

People misunderstand the far-reaching consequences of the ruling by believing abortion to be a simple elective decision to terminate a “normal” pregnancy. This ruling, in fact, threatens the fundamental health care rights of women. It demonstrates HOW IMPORTANT the physician-patient relationship is and why neither government nor insurance companies have any place making health-care decisions.

Reverting to state level laws from early 1900s, immediately following this ruling, has put numerous physicians in an impossible situation wondering how to legally provide appropriate care for their patients. In Utah, for example, the law describes the delivery of anything except a dead fetus as an abortion. Women who are severely infected or hemorrhaging as a complication of pregnancy, with a fetus that has a heartbeat but cannot survive outside of the uterus, have routinely been treated by terminating pregnancy as the standard of care… until now. With the change in law, instead of terminating the fetus and sparing the life of the woman, there will be an additional preventable loss of life. The lives of women will be lost.

In some states, immediately following the ruling, physicians were asked to contact the legal department prior to caring for patients appropriately….this simple delay in care can cost the life of a woman who is hemorrhaging from an ectopic non-viable pregnancy in an emergency care situation.

The supreme court decision eliminates equitable and safe access to medical care and will ultimately lead to higher maternal mortality rates in the US. There is absolutely no space for third parties, government bodies nor insurance companies, in the delivery of health care. These decisions must be made DIRECTLY between patients and their physicians.

“The American Medical Association is deeply disturbed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn nearly a half century of precedent protecting patients’ right to critical reproductive healthcare—representing an egregious allowance of government intrusion into the medical examination room, a direct attack on the practice of medicine and the patient-physician relationship, and a brazen violation of patients’; rights to evidence-based reproductive health services. States that end legal abortion will not end abortion—they will end safe abortion, risking devastating consequences, including patients’ lives….

We will always have physicians’ backs and defend the practice of medicine, we will fight to protect the patient-physician relationship, and we will oppose any law or regulation that compromises or criminalizes patient access to safe, evidence-based medical care, including abortion. As the health of millions of patients hangs in the balance, this is a fight we will not give up.”

Mondays with your MD: Headaches and Migraines

2022-06-20T13:50:23+00:00June 20th, 2022|Adults, Family Practice, Health Care, Urgent Care|

June is Headache and Migraine Awareness Month.
Did you even know that was a thing?

There are many reasons people get headaches and most of us have had a headache at some point.

Today we review the most common causes as well as what the most concerning warning signs are and when you should seek immediate care.

Headaches can be due to allergies, caffeine withdrawal and even a life-threatening aneurysm.

Typical headaches are tension-type headaches and migraines.

Tension-Type headaches

Tension-Type headaches are most common and are often caused by the following 3 things:

excessive caffeine intake

alcohol intake

vision problems

Migraines

We discuss Migraines in great detail in our June edition of
“Monthly Health Tips”


Migraines can be debilitating.
We look at symptoms, preventions, and treatments.

It is important to know that headaches

can sometimes be a sign of a life-threatening emergency.

The following signs are reasons to seek care immediately:

You are having your worst headache ever
You have loss of consciousness
You have uncontrollable vomiting
Your headache is worst upon waking
You have loss of vision

Mondays with your MD: What is Direct Primary Care?

2022-06-10T03:49:57+00:00June 10th, 2022|Direct Primary Care, Family Practice, Health Care, Membership, Urgent Care|

People ask me all the time…. What is Direct Primary Care?

Focused on your health.

In a traditional fee for service primary care practice, doctors are paid based on how many people they see, number of tests they order, or type of procedures they do. This leads to our current system of rapid visits with many tests and quick referrals. Many times doctors cannot take the the time to really listen, or think about what is best for your health from the patient perspective. In the existing system, doctors are not reimbursed for emails or phone calls and this creates a system where it becomes difficult to speak to your doctor outside of a harried office visit that you may have been waiting a long time for.

In direct primary care, instead of paying for each visit or procedure, you pay a monthly fee. This monthly fee frees the physician from the model that promotes productivity over quality and allows your physician to focus on you and what you really need. This leads to more time with your doctor when you need it and convenient easy access outside the doctor’s “office visit” by phone, text, email, etc.

The doctor you call. The doctor you trust.

Direct primary care doctors are dedicated to provide the high-quality unhurried care that is essential for your wellbeing and ongoing maintenance of your health. You can see your direct primary care doctor for all routine and preventive services like checkups as well as urgent care and chronic care management. Many times having this relationship with your physician and the access it provides, can save you visits to more expensive venues like the urgent care, hospital or emergency room.

Mondays with Your MD: Health Insurance is not Good Health Care

2022-05-22T19:04:31+00:00May 22nd, 2022|Adults, Copays, Family Practice, Health Care, Membership|

How accessible is health care in the richest nation? Why Health Insurance ≠ Health Care.

Many patients tell me that they love their doctor but that they cannot get through easily or book an appointment quickly. They pay thousands of dollars annually for “health insurance,” but are frustrated with their inability to access appropriate “health care.” Patients often go to an emergency room or an urgent care to be seen because it is the only option in the existing health care model.

The result: Americans visits the doctor less frequently and have the highest rate of avoidable deaths.

The United States spends 2x as much, per person, as other high-income countries, yet the US continues to have the lowest life expectancy and poorer health care outcomes when compared to other countries. Americans pay hefty premiums to health insurance plans every year. Where do the dollars go and why is health care access awful?

Traditional physician offices incur a large cost for taking care of patient needs outside of the actual patient office visit. For example, making a phone call to provide patient care is not compensated by insurance companies. Several other similar services that are instrumental to good health care include completing forms for patients, ordering and/or reviewing labs, and writing prescriptions. Restrictions placed by insurance companies make it difficult to take care of patients outside of the visit.

What if health insurance was the same as other insurance products?

A good example is car insurance. You expect to pay out of pocket for your gas, oil change, and maintenance/repairs. You have a high deductible low premium insurance that covers you in case of a car accident. In the analogous healthcare model, patients have catastrophic health insurance coverage with low monthly premiums and a high deductible.

Pairing health insurance with health care, through a physician direct primary care office, lowers out of pocket expense and improves health outcomes by providing access to obtain discounted screenings, preventative services, urgent care services, labs, and medications.

Health insurance companies have come between patients and their health. The health system in the United States is broken as evidenced by the out of control spending and health outcomes. Direct primary care offers an alternative that works. Direct primary care aligns values to prioritize patient health care needs with lower costs and better health outcomes. Find a direct primary care near you by searching https://mapper.dpcfrontier.com/

COVID 19 Timeline Information

2021-05-08T12:54:48+00:00November 9th, 2020|Adults, Community, Coronavirus, Family Medicine, Family Practice, Pandemic|

The disease that is caused by the SARS CoV2 virus presents and transmits like many other respiratory viruses which makes it difficult to identify and contain.  I would like to provide information about the period from when someone is exposed to the SARS CoV2 virus, when they are infectious, and when they are most likely to have a positive test.

The graph above illustrates the timeline of COVID-19 illness after exposure.

Incubation period is the estimated amount of time it may take for someone to develop COVID-19 after exposure. Right now, for adults it is about 2-14 days. This is why we use the 14 day guideline for close-contact quarantine period.

Studies show that PCR tests for coronavirus can detect up to 98% of cases by day 7-8 after exposure.

Infectious period is when you are contagious after exposure to the virus. Most respiratory viruses have an infectious period of about 48hrs before symptoms develop.  Anyone that has been in contact with someone with COVID-19 48hrs before that person’s symptoms began should quarantine for 14 days. The end of the infectious period can vary, but is defined as being fever free for at least 24 hours AND 10 days from symptom onset.

The local health department contact tracers are not able to reach out to every person (roughly 50% of people are being contacted who have been exposed). This is why it is important for the general public to know these guidelines so we can appropriately notify our potential close contacts to help mitigate the spread.

Be well, everyone. Stay diligent… wear a mask, wash hands, social distance and try (if possible) to keep interactions with folks brief. This will reduce your risk of transmission, and also your chance of needing to quarantine.

Dr Natasha Diaz

Open Enrollment – Information

2021-05-08T12:59:32+00:00October 14th, 2020|Copays, Deductibles, Direct Primary Care, Family Practice, Membership, Prescription Costs|

 

OPEN ENROLLMENT…. IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!
Whether your health insurance is through your employer or you have a private policy, you’re headed for open enrollment. This is when insurers make cost and benefit changes that will be effective January 1 st . Your insurer is required to notify you in writing of upcoming plan benefit changes. Take the time to study those changes and the benefit details in any plan you are considering for your 2021 coverage. The choice you make will be in effect through December 31, 2021 unless you have a qualifying event, (such as loss of coverage) that allows you to change coverage mid-year.

Here are three common changes to look for:

  1. Increased Costs: An increase in your premiums and/or what you pay for medical treatment, such as: lab work, x-rays, or hospitalization. Direct primary care members receive enormous savings on labs and imaging servicess.
  2. Prescription Drugs: Two common benefit changes for the drugs you take are:
    i. They are no longer covered. Direct primary care members are offered steeply discounted medication pricing.
    ii. The drugs have been moved to a different tier, which often means moving from a lower-cost tier, such as Brand Name, to a higher cost tier, like Specialty Drugs.
  3. Physician services. Many times with changes to insurance, patients find their physician is no longer “in-network.” Check that your specialists are still in network. Good news…direct primary care physician services are not affected by these changes.

Choosing the plan with the highest deductible/lowest premium can save thousands of dollars per year when paired with a direct primary care membership. You never have to worry about your changes to your direct health care services regardless of benefit changes in the policy. Open enrollment only comes once per year. Make the most of it and choose the best plan to meet your health care needs.

TRANSITIONING JOBS/ LAPSE IN HEALTH BENEFITS?
Direct Primary Care offers an excellent opportunity to obtain health care with transparent pricing that covers the vast majority of health care needs. We recommended you maintain catastrophic coverage. Some good options are:

  1. Short-term health insurance (STHI): as of mid-2020 there were at least 9 providers of STHI in Illinois.
  2. Medical Cost Sharing Plans

>>LEARN MORE ABOUT ROOTS HEALTH DPC<<

>>Click here to call ROOTS now 708-613-7916<<

Roots Health DPC Opening Day!

2020-07-21T14:51:32+00:00July 15th, 2020|Direct Primary Care, Family Practice, Membership|

Today is a big day! Roots Health DPC opens today!
As a physician, I have been witness to the cycle of life, taking care of all ages from diverse backgrounds. Through the years, I have enjoyed the practice of medicine from academic teaching positions and medical directorship to rural and international health work. Years ago, I made the decision to go to medical school because I believed that healthcare should be accessible and affordable.
Today, I am thrilled to find my place in Direct Primary Care (DPC). DPC is a growing movement, a new model for healthcare that provides high quality affordable health care for patients. This model serves a diverse population including individuals/families with high deductible plans, small business employers, and patients who are without insurance. Each DPC is founded by an independent forward-thinking physician that puts healthcare back where it belongs: between the doctor and the patient.
At Roots Health DPC we make health care accessible, personalized, and affordable. Spanish-speaking available. Explore the website and find out if DPC is right for you.
– Dr. Natasha Diaz
© Copyright 2020 Roots-MD LLC, dba Roots Health DPC
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