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What is Direct Primary Care?

2023-04-03T14:53:44+00:00April 3rd, 2023|Direct Primary Care, Health Care, Membership|

Direct Primary Care. What is it?

I already pay a ton for health insurance…. aren’t those services covered?

Most of us know that trying to use our health insurance is a painful process.  In general, we find it impossible to get the care we need without creating a massive headache.   In the end, we spend additional time and money trying to get the “care” that our insurance “covers.”  We are all familiar with the hassle typically experienced when trying to get an appointment or speak to a doctor.  Often, we end up with end up coming out-of-pocket for our copays and deductibles… sometimes paying hundreds or thousands of dollars annually.  These expenses are paid in addition to our already high-priced monthly premiums that take a large chunk of our income every paycheck. Sometimes we avoid seeking healthcare altogether because it is such a hassle.

You may have already even tried to solve for some of the health care hassle by changing to a lower cost plan or choosing a different provider who is supposed to be “better.”  But even when you really need health care… you might still consider “waiting it out” because the hassle of dealing with a health issue is harder than not dealing with it.

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is changing everything about your health care experience as you know it.

DPC offers a solution that saves you both time and money. You can now easily access the health care you need in a timely manner that his hassle-free without long waits or surprise bills.

DPC provides transparent pricing with a low monthly membership fee. There are no copays. There are no out-of-pocket dollars spent to meet your deductible. For example, if you end up needing to need an MRI, labs, medications, or an urgent care visit… the savings on these services alone often cover the entire cost of your membership for a year. The cost-savings in DPC do not even begin to touch the tremendous value of the superior care provided and the amount of time and hassle saved for patients.

Our patients do not avoid seeking care. They know they deserve to have easy access to their doctor especially when they are sick. We make it easy for them to reach us directly. No waiting.

We do not believe in automated messaging systems, sitting for hours waiting to be seen, or waiting for days to get a call back from your doctor.

It’s simple. We do what’s right for our patients. Every. Single. Time.

If this sounds like the kind of health care you think you deserve…. set up a free meet and greet to see how DPC will work for you.

SET YOUR SCHEDULE WITH US NOW

 

Avoiding care because it’s a hassle, spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get the care you need, and receiving bills you were not expecting after your care has been provided are the status quo for the health care experience. Can you really afford not to try something different?

Prediabetes – What is it exactly?

2023-02-11T03:11:19+00:00January 30th, 2023|Adults, Diabetes, Family Medicine, Family Practice, Health Care, Membership|

What is prediabetes? Who is at risk?
A look at the myths about diabetes.

Approximately 96 million American adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, more than 80% don’t know they have it. In fact, most people are not aware that they should be routinely screened.

So what is the harm in having prediabetes?

Prediabetes significantly increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. As with anything… knowledge is power.

The good news is that if you have prediabetes, which is easily detected on bloodwork, you can make lifestyle changes to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.

Is prediabetes more common than you thought?
Learn more about ways that you can maximize your wellness by setting up a FREE initial consultation with Dr Diaz to create a customized health plan based on your personal wellness goals.

Book a free meet and greet today!

Today we are going to dispel some common myths about Diabetes.

Myth: You’re not at risk for Diabetes if you’re a healthy weight

Being obese or overweight is associated with a number of health problems, and it increases your risk for type 2 diabetes. This does not mean that you are immune to the disease if you maintain a healthy weight, however. Even people at a healthy weight can have diabetes

Myth: No One in My Family Has Diabetes, so I Can’t Get It

Having a close family member with type 2 diabetes does put you at increased risk for developing the condition. But the risk of diabetes goes up with age. The risk is higher in people with heart disease, high blood pressure, and who have excess weight or obesity, regardless of family history. Although you might not be able to change your family history or age, you can practice a healthy lifestyle to cut your risk.

Myth: There’s Nothing That You Can Do to Prevent Diabetes

Even though genetics factor into your risk for type 2 diabetes, lifestyle choices play an important role in preventing diabetes. Maintaining a healthy weight, daily exercise and healthy diet modifications can help reduce your risk for diabetes. Smoking can make it difficult for your body to use insulin, so not smoking can help decrease your risk for diabetes, as well. Alcohol consumption can also play a role.

Myth: It’s Your Fault if you have Diabetes

Diabetes is a serious chronic disease, and people with diabetes are not to blame. There is no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes, and while lifestyle factors do contribute to your risk for type 2 diabetes, even type 2 diabetes is not entirely preventable.

Myth: Diabetes is Inconvenient but not Serious

Diabetes results in more deaths than breast cancer and AIDS put together. There are several risks and complications associated with diabetes, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputation that impact the quality of life significantly.

Next week we will take a look at how you can figure out your risk for prediabetes and determine what type of screening is appropriate.
Knowledge is Power. Sign up to receive “Mondays with your MD” for FREE and take control of your health today.

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Habits: Directing Your Life Intentionally

2023-01-23T04:18:54+00:00January 22nd, 2023|Adults, Membership, Mental Health, Public Health|

Our brains are the most amazing organ. The brain organizes and integrates an incredible amount of data quickly while allowing us to operate on “auto-pilot” for much of our day. Our brains create systems and pathways that are so well worn that we can do routine tasks without shifting our focus to them.

How can we harness the strength of this amazing gift to help us create the life we want? By understanding how to intentionally form our habits

So… what is a habit?

Habits are behaviors we perform on a regular basis where some component of the behavior is considered “automatic.” Forming new habits just requires practice.

Developing new desired healthy habits is something we can direct our brain to do for us. Dr Diaz works with patients to help them build habits and reach their goals.

>> Learn more aT: Roots Health DPC <<

Habits are pathways in the brain that have formed through repetition. The repetitive pattern starts with a cue from the environment which triggers a behavioral response and is reinforced with a reward. The classic example was the experiment with Pavlov’s dogs where the dogs salivated (behavior) in response to the bell (cue).

In order to create a new, healthy habit—or even to break a bad habit—you’ll want to be as intentional as possible with all three parts: cue, behavior, reward. You can manipulate your environment to introduce cues that you can then intentionally start to associate with a desired behavior and reinforce it all with a reward.

Changing your life habits can be simpler than you may think. With a few tricks, you can gain or lose any habits you’d like.

Understanding these tips will help you stick to healthy habits and break bad ones as you work toward your health and wellness goals in 2023.

FOCUS ON THE CUE

In order to create new habits, we need to focus on the cue, NOT the behavior.

Let’s say you want to start practicing yoga on a regular basis. Instead of focusing on doing yoga, try focusing on developing the routine around initiating the yoga.

An easy way to do this is to choose a cue that already occurs regularly in your daily life, such as drinking morning coffee. During the early stages of developing your yoga habit, focus your effort on prepping your yoga space while you brew the coffee. Then go fill up your cup and go straight to the location in your home you have chosen to do yoga.

Develop the habit of prepping to do yoga every morning, which makes it more likely that you’ll actually do it. Do not focus on the behavior… you can start with 5 minutes daily of yoga and gradually build up to your targeted time.

After a while, you’ll start to notice that when you get up to get coffee (environmental cue), it takes little to no effort to set up your space and practice yoga (habitual response).

You’ll even start to look forward to it, and maybe even feel like something in your life is off when you do not practice yoga…. And that’s the power of habit!

REINFORCE WITH THE “REWARD”

Using the yoga example, you might get done and treat yourself to a (healthy) snack to go with your coffee. Whatever you do, be sure to incorporate a healthy reward into your habit routine.

The more often the cue, behavior, and reward occur in close time and proximity to one another, the stronger a habit becomes.

HEALTHY HABITS TO START RIGHT NOW

All habits are not created equal. Some habits can have positive impacts across multiple areas of our lives. The most impactful habits are ones that point you toward regular exercise, eating well, and getting good sleep. These three are my top picks for unlocking a healthier life starting today.

HABITS VS GOALS – Don’t confuse habits with goals.

Goals are great, but putting habits in place that move you toward your goals are key. The goal is the destination and the habit is the journey.

You have the tips you need to build healthy habits and break bad ones. Start the process today and build a better life for yourself…. one habit at a time. Interested in learning more about how you can use habits and achieve your health and wellness goals? Set up a FREE “Meet and Greet” to speak with Dr Diaz today. Space is limited.

Book a free meet and greet today!

Making Health Your Priority in 2023: Tips for Success

2023-01-22T20:41:04+00:00January 16th, 2023|Adults, Community, Family Practice, Health Care, Membership, Mental Health|

The goal of becoming healthier is among the most popular resolutions. Many resolve to eat healthier and exercise regularly. These resolutions are great, but they do not address the way stress can sabotage our best efforts to live a healthy life. Emotional well-being underpins our success at achieving our health goals for 2023.

Goal setting is good, but the mindset work that builds the foundation for the path to success is what is most important. Living a healthy life is a journey, not a destination, and there are no “quick cures” when it comes to health and well-being. Failure can cause impatience and it is necessary to remember that you will succeed… if you don’t expect overnight success.

>> Learn more about Roots Health DPC <<

At Roots Health DPC we provide a system and support to ensure that you achieve your health and wellness goals. We know that healthy living is the foundation for a successful happy productive life.


Use these tips to help ensure you follow through with prioritizing your health in 2023:

Stay in Touch

Connect with friends in person. It’s good for your health to maintain friendships. In general, a lack of social bonds can damage your health as much smoking, obesity, and high blood pressure.

Surround yourself with people who are making their personal health and wellness their priority. In a technology-fixated era, it’s never been easier to stay in touch, so fire up your favorite social media and then follow up with in-person visits.

Plan for bumps in the road: A support system can help. We thrive with social interaction and support. Surround yourself with like-minded people looking to prioritize their health and wellness this year. It is important to have someone there on a regular basis to get you through those rough times.

Manage Your Stress

Stress, in small doses, can actually be helpful for short periods. But chronic stress can increase your risk of—or worsen—anxiety, depression, diabetes, heart disease, and more. The best way to manage stress is to control the factors you have agency over:

  • Get enough sleep
  • Exercise
  • Ensure you are eating well
  • Spend intentional time relaxing away from stressors

Relaxation, sleep, socializing, and taking vacations are things we all deserve and owe to ourselves for our health and well being in 2023. Finding healthy ways to cope with the stress in your life is imperative to your well-being.

Cut Back on Alcohol

Drinking alcohol in excess can increase risk for depression, increase memory loss, and increase hot flash symptoms in perimenopausal women. Heavy chronic drinking increases your risk for liver and heart disease, stroke, mental deterioration, and even cancers of the mouth, throat, liver, and breast.

If cutting back on alcohol to a couple of drinks per week seems to be difficult, consider reaching out for help.

Get More Sleep

You probably already know that a good night’s rest can do wonders for your ability to function on all cylinders. But sleep is more beneficial to your health than you might realize. A lack of sleep has been linked to a greater risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Aim to get quality sleep and more of it by exercising good sleep habits. These habits can include actions such as:

  • Going to bed and waking up at consistent times daily
  • Having a comfortable bedroom atmosphere (i.e., one that is dark, quiet, and relaxing)
  • Getting exercise during the day

It’s common for people to make New Year’s resolutions, but it’s also common for people to break them. Fortunately, there are resolutions you can make with ways that can help you stick to them. At Roots Health DPC, we take the time to understand your unique health goals and work with you to address obstacles to your success. We invite you to join us and let us help you achieve your health and wellness goals in 2023.

Book a free meet and greet today!

YOUR TIME is valuable – Mondays with your MD

2023-03-15T13:38:23+00:00December 4th, 2022|Adults, Direct Primary Care, Families, Family Practice, Health Care, Membership|

YOUR TIME is the most valuable resource you have. Give yourself the gift of TIME.

You work hard to balance time between your career and your family. When one of your own has a health concern that “pops up” or just needs to be scheduled …. trying to figure out the how, where, and when to get the issue addressed can literally take hours, and even days, from your routine.

I get it. I’m a working mom and I know what it is like to balance work and family, to “carry” the mental load, and then…. to put “one more thing” on your plate. My job is to take that stress off your plate.

“My son has a sore throat and fever…. I have placed a call to his doctor’s office and am waiting for a call back….”

When you have medical concerns, the last thing you want is to pile on more stress. Let me help! My patients reach out to me, their physician, directly via text at any time of day. They get answers to the questions they have about their health immediately and can take the next steps and get back to their busy lives.

“My daughter cut open her foot. Do I take her to urgent care or ER and wait to be seen?”

No one has time to wait around for a return call from the doctor’s office for advice. You don’t have to sit in an urgent care with other contagious sick people waiting to be seen… then go back again the following week because you picked up a virus in the lobby while waiting. We take care of this without the wait!

“I am experiencing a constant feeling of being tired… but I just put off going to see the doctor because it is so hard to get an appointment and the visit takes up half my day.”

Let us make going to the doctor as easy as booking a time that works perfectly for your schedule. We even offer telemedicine so you can get care wherever you are. If you are visiting us, there is no waiting in a waiting room. Ever!

THIS IS NOT too good to be true!


Ditch the Healthcare Hassle. Give yourself the gift of Time!

Get all the health care needs for your family met with ease and grace. We know how valuable your time is and that is why we are making health care easy for families: one mom at a time.

Come and see how Direct Primary Care works….schedule a free initial consultation with us today and get all your questions answered.

>> CLICK HERE TO Book A free Meet and Greet <<

YOU DESERVE BETTER CARE

Mondays with your MD – Open Enrollment is Here

2022-11-12T02:13:13+00:00November 5th, 2022|Adults, Copays, Deductibles, Direct Primary Care, Family Practice, Health Care, Membership, Prescription Costs|

The THINGS you DID NOT EVEN THINK to consider this Open Enrollment…..

How can I keep my costs low AND receive high quality accessible health care?

Every year we pay more for insurance while less and less is covered. When we attempt to use our insurance it is cumbersome and inconvenient at best. We have all experienced the frustration with the amount of time it requires to obtain what we need for our health and get it covered by insurance. Today we cover the basics and empower you to make decisions that will give you the most cost-effective way to obtain the high quality health care you deserve

The Jargon

Premium: the amount you pay every month for health insurance.
Deductible: the amount you must pay before you can get any services covered by your insurance in a calendar year. A few Caveats to the deductible: Not everything counts towards your deductible. Premiums and copays generally don’t count. Some plans have separate deductibles for prescriptions.

Copay: a fixed amount you pay for a covered expense (visits, procedures, medications, etc)
Out-of-pocket maximum: the most you might have to spend for covered services in a given year. This number is important to understand!
HDHP is a High-deductible Health Plan (HDHP): these plans offer lower monthly premiums and allow you qualify for a Health Savings Account (HSA)
HSA is a Health Savings Account: A type of savings account that lets you set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses.
Health Share Plans*: this is not an insurance product and offers much lower monthly premiums with low initial unshareable amount (similar to a deductible). *A cooperative where members “share” medical costs. They cover catastrophic needs (hospital stay, surgery, ER visit, etc) but are not insurance products.

What your typical open enrollment conversation is missing!!!

Smart consumers determine their out of pocket projected cost for the year and choose a high deductible plan to save on monthly premiums. Savvy consumers understand the relationship between premiums and deductibles and keep costs low by determining the most cost-effective way to lower their out of pocket-expenses over the course of the entire year.

REMEMBER HEALTH CARE DOES NOT NEED TO BE EXPENSIVE.

Direct Primary Care: The impossible Made Simple and Transparent.

Direct Primary Care (DPC) removes insurance companies from the physician-patient relationship and provides the vast majority of health care services through a low monthly fee (like a gym membership). Patients skip the hassle of traditional insurance-based care. They get more time with their physician with same day and next day appointments… all without copays or hidden fees. DPC can produce tremendous savings on out of pocket expenses when patients work with their DPC physician to find the most cost-effective appropriate health care. The enormous savings on medications, labs, and imaging often exceed the annual cost of membership.

Can you imagine if you could have easily accessible high quality health care with access to your doctor whenever you needed it AND pay less out of pocket? Have a cough and fever but dont want to go to the urgent care? ….. skip the line and the copay! Urinary tract infection while on vacation out of state?…. no problem we got you covered.

“Dr Diaz is accountable and easy to reach. I feel well taken care of and trust I am in good hands.“ – M.C.

M.C. saved 97% on her bloodwork.
Imagine getting 97% OFF… you read that right! This patient had labs with Roots Health DPC and paid $29.57. The same patient had the exact same labs billed (for the same tests) at a price of $901.24 through the same lab.

At Roots Health DPC we get it. Your health and wellness are our main goal and we are here to support our patients as they make decisions that will affect their well-being.

Open enrollment only comes once per year… make the most of it and choose the best plan to meet your health care needs.
Its your money.
Its your healthcare.
Its your choice.

If you want to learn more about how direct primary care can help you achieve your health care goals and save you money, sign up for our free guide:
“Better Healthcare for a Fraction of the Price”

Mondays with your MD – Getting to the root of your healthcare concerns

2022-10-08T18:48:36+00:00October 3rd, 2022|Community, Family Medicine, Family Practice, Health Care, Membership|

Are you frustrated with the existing health care system? Is your doctor treating your individual symptoms but not helping you find the root cause for the constellation of symptoms you have? Are you wondering if your health care needs might require an integrative approach?

Roots Health DPC provides a patient-centered approach that engages the whole person; nourishes the mind, body, and spirit; and encourages the conscious creation of personal health and wellness. Patients have constant direct access to board-certified medical care with ample time to fully evaluate and treat the root cause of symptoms.

Did you know that the average length of time spent in an office visit to cover patient concerns and circumstances is 7 minutes in the traditional insurance-based health care model? That’s right… 7 minutes! It is no small wonder that the typical health care experience feels piecemeal and rushed. You would not expect your mechanic to diagnose, let alone treat, your car problem in 7 minutes…. so why do we accept this substandard care for our own health and well-being?

At Roots Health DPC, we know that your health is the most important thing. It is the foundation for living life on your terms.

Why should you consider direct primary care for your health care?

Quality time
Quality time to understand your health care needs with your physician and create an individualized health care plan. We focus on the whole patient as a unique individual –taking into account each element of a person’s health, environment, and lifestyle.

Communication
Communication with your board-certified physician that is easy and ongoing making it simple to adjust the plan as necessary to meet your health care needs. Unlimited physician access and visits… in office and virtual

No Waiting. No Copays. Ever.

Affordable Transparent Pricing.

A low monthly membership fee provides unlimited direct access to your physician to work with you as a team to obtain and maintain your optimal health and well-being. Steep discounts on labs, medications, supplements, and imaging.

If you are looking for a board-certified physician that you trust to look at the whole picture and get to the root of your health concerns and help you build a healthier life…. consider joining us at Roots Health DPC. Schedule a Free Meet and Greet with Dr Diaz today.

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    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: Keeping medications affordable

    2022-06-06T13:57:34+00:00June 5th, 2022|Adults, Direct Primary Care, Health Care, Membership, Prescription Costs|

    Medications do not need to be expensive.

    At Roots Health DPC, we are making medications affordable for our patients. How?

    We buy medications at wholesale pricing and sell them to our patients directly at wholesale cost – without marking them up. We remove the profit takers, pharmacy benefit managers, and retail pharmacies between patients and their medications, effectively lowering the cost of prescriptions by 50% to 90%.

    Examples of medications for under $5/month

    Medication Dosage
    Metformin 1000 mg
    Ibuprofen 600 mg
    Lisinopril 10 mg
    Amlodipine 2.5 mg
    Sertraline/Zoloft 50 mg
    Lovastatin 40 mg
    Sumatriptan/Imitrex 100 mg
    Lortadine/Claritin 10 mg

    A simple idea to solve a complex problem

    DPC stands for Direct Primary Care – we deliver health care services, including medications, directly to our patients. We provide medications at these rates because we believe that the people in our community deserve fair pricing on the medications they need to stay healthy. At Roots Health DPC, we are uniquely qualified to partner with our patients to determine which medications will best treat their medical conditions.

    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/

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