Cathy has some medical war stories.

She gets a lot of bladder infections, and her doctor had said to just call for a lab order next time she had symptoms. But the big medical corporation has one of those phone trees which makes it nearly impossible to contact your doctor’s office. She finally got through to a human who promised to send an order to the lab. But she went to three labs before she could finally find the order! Then she says it took 14 calls and a week and a half before she got the results!!

I told her about my patient who requested a lab order for a possible bladder infection. Instead, I had her come right into the office. We dipped her urine, I prescribed an antibiotic, and we sent the urine for culture. A couple days later I let her know the urine culture showed the antibiotic should have been effective. Yes, she responded, she was feeling better.

Cathy, who just signed up with us, says she is looking forward to our office’s prompt medical care!

“I’m not sure I can afford this,” Dave joked as he handed over $1.50 in exchange for the 30 pills of Meloxicam pain medication at our office.

His wife had texted last evening saying Dave was “walking like an old man” and we set him up for an appointment this morning. When he stood up from the exam room chair, grunting and hesitating, I couldn’t help but laugh. Yes, he sure moved like an old man.

“My wife will be happy she doesn’t have to drag the kids to the pharmacy for the pain med,” he said, as he hobbled out the door. “Thanks a lot!”

Working for my patients, instead of for the insurance companies!

Sarah had burned herself on a pan on Thanksgiving last week. She had been keeping the area dressed but now it was oozing. She wasn’t sure if it was infected. She sent a message to me, Dr. Herrington. I asked her to send me a photo through Spruce, our secure messaging app. Within a minute I had sent her a response. It didn’t look infected, here were some instructions for how to care for it, and please let me know if it doesn’t seem to be healing.

In the traditional medical practice, maybe she could have sent a photo and gotten some advice, but it likely would have taken longer and involved several staff before she got an answer. Or they might have required her to make an appointment. After all, insurance doesn’t pay if she isn’t seen.

My patients and I love my DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice, where I can provide prompt personalized care.

Nancy was happy to have an early appointment this morning because she had to get to work. She had a skin infection, which needed antibiotics. Within minutes her appointment was wrapped up, and she had antibiotics in hand. Cost? Nothing for the office visit, and $5 for the antibiotic.

That’s another great advantage of my DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice. I’m able to dispense prescription medications at a low cost, often saving patients time and money.

I have learned a lot about vitamins and supplements, and I keep learning. I’m amazed at how the human body can improve with things like magnesium, B vitamins, Vitamin D, a good probiotic, and more.

But the question is which products are best? And how do you know you’re getting good quality products that have been stored correctly?

That’s why I’m thrilled to have an account with Fullscript, an on-line supplement platform that is partnered with hundreds of companies. You can search through thousands of products, many you may be familiar with. Prices are similar to, or often better than, elsewhere.

Fullscript has a Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale going on now. Use my link https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/pherrington to create an account and see the savings. I’ve compiled a “Dr. Herrington’s favorites” list as a start. Let me know if you have questions.

Another win!

I was seeing a new patient late this afternoon. He has some very strange concerning neurologic symptoms which are worsening. I really would like him to see a neurologist. But how soon could we get him in, with Thanksgiving two days away, and the rest of the holidays around the corner?

Thanks to Sue pulling some strings (and God helping I’m sure), we got him an appointment for 9 AM tomorrow! Amazing!

Let me tell you about my day at my DPC (Direct Primary Care) office.

Stacy had her bloodwork drawn. She brought in her 5-month-old baby, who smiled and coo’ed. Stacy asked if I had time for her to ask me a few questions. Sure did! We spent 20 min discussing some issues.

Cindy came in for her recheck appointment. She didn’t know what vitamins and supplements I’d recommend, so we discussed that, and I referred her to Fullscript, a great on-line site for supplements.

Rick called with back pain. He was wondering if I could inject the sore area with steroid like I had done a couple times in the past. Sure, c’mon in.

Rachel needed a form completed for work. She dropped it off, picking it up on her way back through town. No charge for the form completion.

Don walked in this afternoon. He’d had shooting arm pain since he had his blood drawn at the hospital. Could I take a look at him? Sure, I have time now.

Tina has had urinary symptoms. Could we check her for an infection? We saw her this afternoon. She brought her 19-month-old granddaughter – we had fun playing with the toddler!

In my old traditional medicine job, I wouldn’t have had time to see most of these people. In a lot of cases I wouldn’t have even known they called. Someone else might have had to see them, or maybe none of us had time. I love the personalized prompt care I’m able to provide through my DPC practice.

I ran across one of my old patients today when I was out shopping. I hadn’t seen him in nearly a year.

“When are you going to take my insurance?” Joe asked. Never, I thought. But instead I said, “I no longer take insurance.”

I went on to explain that with my DPC (Direct Primary Care) medical practice, I don’t answer to insurance. Instead, patients pay a monthly membership fee, and in exchange they get unlimited office visits and communication. Since my panel of patients will be limited to about 500 patients, rather than the usual 2000 for traditional Family Practice doctors, I have TIME to spend with my patients. And they can usually have same-day or next-day appointments if needed.

Patients can use their insurance for referrals, labs outside my office, medical tests and medications. But through my office it’s the monthly fee, as well as low-cost bloodwork or medications if they desire.

Joe said he was in the hospital recently, and he had trouble getting an appointment with the general doctor for followup visits. I thought of my current patients, who hear from me within a day of being discharged from the hospital. And since patients can communicate with me directly when they have problems, they rarely end up in the hospital anyway.

I don’t know if Joe has great insurance that pays everything for him, or if he has many medical expenses. But he said he’ll check out my web site and decide if it makes sense for him.

Working for my patients, instead of for insurance companies.

My patient yesterday said her ER co-pay is going up to $250!

Sure, there might be times people need an ER, such as accidents or chest pains. But some people end up in the ER because they can’t reach their doctor, or they waited to seek medical care until they were very ill.

With my DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice, patients can communicate with me and my office easily, being seen promptly if needed.

So if I can save my middle-aged patient one ER visit, it will have offset more than 3 months of membership with my DPC!

Working for my patients, rather than for insurance companies.

“But mom,” my patient’s daughter complained. “I don’t have time to sit and look at this book!”

She wanted to peruse the horse book in my waiting room. But alas, she and her family had been seen immediately, with no time to sit in the waiting room!

I love being able to see my patient promptly. It’s SO refreshing!