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South Macomb Internal Medicine

South Macomb Internal Medicine

Warren, MI

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Flu

It’s Vaccine Season And We Are Here To Guide You Through The Options!

October 8th, 2021

Vaccine Season

 

Yes it’s that season again.

 

via GIPHY

Okay actually we are talking about VACCINE SEASON.  Hehe…

The Flu virus for example lives longer indoors in the winter, so we are just taking a quick break from our Improving The Patient Experience series to discuss vaccines and answer a few frequently asked questions.  Please keep in mind that this post isn’t meant to be the final word on all vaccines, and that we encourage you to call and ask us if you have additional questions!

Vaccine Season and Your Options:

Let’s address a few vaccines that you may already be considering and/or should consider.

  • Flu:  Flu shots are indeed safe and effective, are available for people over the age of 6 months and you can safely get one even if you’re egg allergic.  Folks over 65 can get the high dose vaccine which is a quadruple dose.  If you have any questions about the flu vaccine please let us know and you can make an appointment to get one with us.  Here is the CDC guidance on Flu vaccines.
  • Covid-19:  The Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective so please get one if you still have not.  If you have any questions about them please ask, and if you are over 65 please schedule a booster – a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine if it has been 6 months since your second dose.  For now this is for those who have had the Pfizer vaccine, and you cannot mix them.  In other words if you had two doses of the Moderna vaccine you cannot get the Pfizer vaccine for your booster dose.  The Covid-19 vaccines and the Flu vaccines are safe to get at the same time, but the Covid-19 vaccine is not administered at our office.  They are available at other locations including some pharmacies.  Call us and we can help you with that, and here is the CDC guidance on Covid-19 vaccines.
  • Shingles, Pneumonia, and Tetanus are all available as well.  Here is the CDC guidance on Shingles, Pneumonia and Tetanus.

There are other diseases which are preventable with vaccines, so if you have questions about any of them please call us and we can advise you, and here is the CDC guidance on all the available vaccines as well.

Please take care of yourselves this vaccine season as the weather starts to get colder, and we are here to help!

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!

 

Filed Under: COVID-19, Flu, Vaccination Tagged With: CDC, CDC Vaccine Guidelines, COVID Vaccine, COVID-19, Doctor, Doctor's Office, Dr. Scot Goldberg, flu, influenza, Internal Medicine, Internist, Macomb, Macomb Doctor, Medical Practice, Metro Detroit, Metro Detroit Doctor, Michigan, Patient Centered Medical Home, PCMH, Pneumonia, Pneumonia Vaccine, Primary Care Medical Home, Shingles, Shingles Vaccine, Tatanus Vaccine, Tetanus, vaccinations, Warren

Improving The Patient Experience: Part 1 – Covid & Flu Vaccinations

September 10th, 2021

By Dr. Scot Goldberg, MD

Hello everyone!  I hope you are doing well, and we are introducing a series around how we work towards improving the patient experience!  A little background on this and some highlights of the initiative as outlined by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan:

Medicare Star Ratings is a rating system developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help consumers find the best Medicare Advantage plan for them. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has two MA plans – Medicare Plus Blue℠ for its PPO members and BCN Advantage℠ for its HMO members.

The Patient Experience

Improving The Patient Experience

CMS assesses a member’s health plan experience through the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or CAHPS, member survey. The survey asks patients to report on their experiences with a wide range of health care services. A large portion of the CAHPS survey is driven by the member’s experience with his or her physician’s team, including such things as follow-up on labs and imaging, and getting timely doctor appointments.

And, most importantly for patients, a positive patient experience results in better adherence to protocol, better relationships with health care providers and a feeling of mutual respect between them and their medical team.

Covid-19 and Flu Vaccines

We know that our entire team can affect the health of patients and how they assess their health care experience, so we are going to discuss a number of points of emphasis starting with Covid-19 and Flu vaccinations!

First let’s talk about boosters.  The newest data coming out of Israel (which is administering the most boosters to date) is that they are very effective and safe.  We still are not sure if they are necessary because we haven’t seen a big increase in cases among vaccinated individuals.  We are happy to discuss your options with you.

As for Flu – the high dose is in and available and they are first come first served for those aged 65 and over.  We expect an increase in flu this year since people aren’t quite as socially distanced as they were at the height of the pandemic.

These are the types of very real questions that we know many of you have based on our interactions with you at our office.  We are doing our very best to keep up with the up to the minute data so that we can provide the best experience for our patients!  Check back for part 2 which will focus on hypertension!

Stay safe everyone! 

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!

Filed Under: COVID-19, Flu, Vaccination Tagged With: COVID Vaccine, COVID-19, Doctor, Doctor's Office, Dr. Scot Goldberg, flu, Flu Vaccine, influenza, Internal Medicine, Internist, Macomb, Macomb Doctor, Metro Detroit, Metro Detroit Doctor, Michigan, Pandemic, Patient Centered Medical Home, vaccinations, Warren

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South Macomb Internal Medicine
28401 Hoover Rd
Warren, MI 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

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  • Dr. Jennilyn Wetzel
  • Dr. Keith Hoffmann
  • Dr. John Vollmer

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