Atlanta Family Medicine Physician
You might think that we MDs could teach a class on dealing with health insurers. We are always trying to justify why our patients should get a certain test or medicine through prior authorizations, pre certifications, appeals, elevated appeals, peer to peer calls (that are rarely with an actual peer). But, no, it makes no…Continue Reading “It’s a Losing Game.”
Wait, What? Statistics reveal a staggering truth about the state of CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) training in the United States – less than 20% of Americans have received CPR training. Emergencies can strike anywhere, anytime; therefore, the importance of widespread CPR education cannot be overstated. The Link Between Bystander CPR Rates and Training: Bystander CPR rates…Continue Reading “CPR Training: Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah Staying Alive”
You Are What You Eat: In the realm of health, few factors play as crucial a role as diet and exercise. In this blog, we delve into the optimal combination of these key players to prevent heart disease—a leading health concern globally. The Mediterranean Diet Triumphs: Numerous studies champion the Mediterranean diet as a formidable…Continue Reading “Diet and Exercise: The Best Medicine”
How Do You Know If You Have Heart Disease: For the past two decades, the use of CT scans for assessing heart health has become a routine practice. Particularly, the CT calcium score has emerged as a valuable screening tool to detect hard plaque, providing a numerical score that gives a yes or no answer…Continue Reading “I Made a Zero on my Test! CT of the Heart”
The terms can be confusing: When it comes to heart health, knowledge is your greatest ally. This blog unravels some of the complexities surrounding heart disease, from understanding individual risk factors to demystifying terms and explaining different conditions like heart disease, heart failure, and cardiac arrest. Determining Your Risk: While everyone is at risk of…Continue Reading “Decoding Heart Disease”
I had surgery last week to remove my left ovary. I’m 53, so it isn’t doing all that much for me anyway. It was what we call an “incidental finding.” This simply means that we were looking for something else, but could not ignore this other issue that is staring back at you and is…Continue Reading “Doctors make the best patients. Sort of.”
He said “thank you for listening to me” before he left for the Emergency Room. I’m still mulling over his appreciation. He did not want to come to the Urgent Care, but he named a few complaints to his nurse daughter and she asked him to please be seen. His symptoms were vague. He had…Continue Reading “He thanked me for listening”
I stopped writing during Covid. Even my journals are empty. I had a strong desire as a physician to “do something” so I worked Urgent Care. There has been some discussion about the 1918 flu pandemic not showing up in much literature of the time, with the exception of Pale Rider, by Laura Spinney. I…Continue Reading “Pandemic Brain”
I work in Urgent Care centers across metro Atlanta. There are six Northside Urgent Care centers, and I periodically cover shifts at each location. Each center has its own unique personality. Midtown Atlanta has a much younger, widely diverse, and, based on the STI rates, a very sexually active persona when compared to the suburbs….Continue Reading “Lions and Tigers and Bears. Oh My!”
Virus rates are going up, up, up. While the mortality rates are so much better, the number of deaths are going up because more people are contracting the virus. How can we control it? We can wear a mask and we can avoid crowds. This is not a partisan issue. This is not a partisan…Continue Reading “Be Safe. Be Smart. Do No Harm.”