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South Macomb Internal Medicine

South Macomb Internal Medicine

Warren, MI

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Primary Care Medical Home

Summer Travel Safety: How to Prepare for Medical Emergencies

Summertime is a time for fun and relaxation, especially when you’re taking a vacation. However, it’s important to remember that medical emergencies can happen anywhere, at any time. That’s why it’s crucial to be prepared before you hit the road or board a plane. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some tips on how to stay safe during your summer travels, and what to do in the event of a medical emergency.

One of the best ways to prepare for a medical emergency while traveling is to have travel insurance. Travel insurance can help cover the cost of medical care if you’re injured or become ill while on vacation. It’s a good idea to purchase travel insurance before your trip so that you’ll be covered in case of an emergency.

Another important tip is to make sure you have all of your important medical information with you when you travel. This includes your insurance card, a list of any medications you’re taking, and the contact information for your doctor. If you have a chronic illness or condition, it’s also a good idea to bring along a copy of your medical records and family media history. This way, if you need to see a doctor while you’re away from home, they’ll have all the information they need to provide proper care. 

It’s also a good idea to research the medical facilities in the area where you’ll be traveling and tell your friends or family exactly where you’re staying. If you’re traveling abroad, be sure to find out about the local medical facilities and how to contact them. Pay attention to landmarks and other distinguishing features around the area you’re staying in the case you need to tell medical professionals how to reach you. 

If you’re traveling with children, it’s important to have a plan for what to do in case of a medical emergency. Make sure you have the contact information for your child’s doctor, as well as any allergies or medical conditions they have. It’s also a good idea to pack a first-aid kit and keep it with you while you travel.

Finally, remember that prevention is key when it comes to staying safe during your summer travels. Be sure to pack sunscreen, insect repellent, and any other items you need to stay safe from the sun and pests. And drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. By following these tips, you can help ensure that your summer vacation is fun and safe for everyone involved.

Have a great summer! And remember, if you have any questions about your health, our team of experts at South Macomb Internal Medicine are always here to help. Safe travels. At South Macomb Internal Medicine the patient comes first. Our priority is and always has been patient care before all else.

Filed Under: Kids, Patient Centered, Primary Care Medical Home Tagged With: Doctor, Medical Practice, Primary Care Medical Home

Enjoy Springing Into Spring But Do It Without Injuring Yourself!

March 5th, 2022

As we MARCH towards Spring the weather is starting to show some signs of getting nicer, which means getting outdoors is more appealing!  You may want to go out for a walk or a jog.  You may want to get outside for a round of golf or a game of tennis.  The most recent Covid surge is receding and life is getting back to normal again.

Springing Into Spring

Springing Into Spring….

You know what else is normal around this time of year?

Bone and Muscle Injuries.

We are not orthopedic surgeons but we do see and treat plenty of bumps, scrapes, bruises and worse among a whole range of services that comes with the territory.  While we are glad to help which is what we’re here for, we’d prefer that you also take precautions and proper care so that you can enjoy these activities with the least amount of risk to your health.

We often bounce around the Internet to supplement our topics with articles from respected medical organizations and here is a good one on avoiding joint injuries from Stanford Children’s Health – it’s not an article just for children and we hope you give it a read.  It’s not long and there are good tips here.

Stay healthy friends!

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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 for updates, articles and fun!

Call us and ask to be added to our email newsletter that comes out every couple weeks!

Telehealth and virtual appointments are still available.

Nutritional services are also available with Nanette Cameron, RDN. Don’t forget to ask us for a $25 gift certificate for trying dietary services with Nanette the first time for patients who have insurance coverage!

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

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Doctor, Doctor's Office, Injuries, Injury, Injury Prevention, Internal Medicine, Internist, Macomb, Macomb Doctor, Medical Practice, Metro Detroit, Metro Detroit Doctor, Michigan, Patient Centered Medical Home, PCMH, Primary Care Medical Home, Springing Into Spring, Warren, Warren Doctor

A Check In From South Macomb Internal Medicine – How Are You?

Check in

Hello all,

We are here for a little check in with you!  We hope you are well and that the first month of 2022 treated you well.  Yes it’s cold here in Michigan, yes it’s snowy here in Michigan, and as you know we have been picking up the pieces after the tragic passing of Dr. Scot Goldberg on December 21st.  Dr. Goldberg was a great man – a great doctor, a great leader, a great mentor, a great family man and a great friend.  His impact – certainly on all of us here at South Macomb Internal Medicine – will be felt for years to come and we can say without reservation that he made a mark in this world!  As was mentioned in his obituary, those who wish to further honor the memory of Dr. Scot F. Goldberg, MD, MBA may do so by making a contribution to:  Sib4Sib https://www.sib4sib.org/donate.html

A couple other tidbits we would like to share with you:

Here is an infographic we shared on our Facebook page from the CDC about how to avoid, spot and treat frostbite and hypothermia.  This information can obviously come in handy with the weather we’re having in Metro Detroit this winter.

We also found this great article about the five biggest trends in healthcare tech trends in 2022.  We are always interested in the latest and greatest – especially in tech and how it may impact how we treat our patients in the future!

That’s about it for now.  Wishing you all health and happiness – be safe, be kind, schedule your next appointment if you’re due, and WASH YOUR HANDS!

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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 for updates, articles and fun!

Call us and ask to be added to our email newsletter that comes out every couple weeks!

Telehealth and virtual appointments are still available.

Nutritional services are also available with Nanette Cameron, RDN. Don’t forget to ask us for a $25 gift certificate for trying dietary services with Nanette the first time for patients who have insurance coverage!

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

Filed Under: Medical News Tagged With: Ascension Health Care, Doctor, Doctor's Office, Dr. Scot Goldberg, Internal Medicine, Internist, Macomb, Macomb Doctor, Medical Practice, Metro Detroit, Metro Detroit Doctor, Michigan, Patient Centered Medical Home, Primary Care Medical Home, Warren

Improving The Patient Experience: Part 6 – Assessing Medications

December 3rd, 2021

By Dr. Scot Goldberg, MD

Hello everyone!  This is part 6 of a series around how we work towards improving the patient experience!  Part 5 was on treating urinary incontinence, and today we will discuss performing an assessment of a patient’s medication compliance and ability to pay for medications, changing prescriptions as appropriate and letting them know about avenues to explore if they need financial help.

Medications

 

Assessing Medications, Compliance, and the right Prescriptions

Part of a routine medical visit is an assessment of a patient’s medications.  Medications can be very expensive and the newer better medications are often out of financial reach for most patients.  For example the newer diabetic medications are better than the old ones but they are pricier, so we are always evaluating them to try to strike that balance between cost and effectiveness in the best interests of our patients.  This also includes tracking potential efficacy and side effects of these medications.  In other words we want to make sure they work and that they won’t cause other problems.  We will typically call into the pharmacies to find out coverage to see what we can prescribe for different situations.  We also keep an electronic log and we keep up with the pharmacies to ensure that they are filling the prescriptions properly!

There are some specific avenues we frequently explore to help our patients get their prescriptions:

  • We have the good RX cards that the patient can use to price out prescriptions.
  • The Canadian Pharmacy is less expensive in many cases and sometimes we will help steer them in that direction.
  • Patients can check insurance guidelines where some insurances are less expensive for filling 90 day’s worth of a medication than 30 days.
  • We have copay cards available for some prescriptions.
We know medications can be expensive, we are aware they have side effects, and we are aware that they are being marketed to you at every turn, but rest assured we are here to help you navigate it and get the best care with the right medications for you!

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Improving The Patient Experience

A little background on this initiative and some highlights 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.

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.

***************************************************************************************************************************

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: Improving The Patient Experience Series Tagged With: Doctor, Doctor's Office, Dr. Scot Goldberg, Improving The Patient Experience, Internal Medicine, Internist, Macomb, Macomb Doctor, Medical Practice, Medications, Metro Detroit, Metro Detroit Doctor, Michigan, Patient Centered Medical Home, PCMH, Prescriptions, Primary Care Medical Home, Warren

Improving The Patient Experience: Part 5 – Treating Urinary Incontinence

November 19th, 2021

By Dr. Scot Goldberg, MD

Hello everyone!  This is part 5 of a series around how we work towards improving the patient experience!  Part 4 was on assessing physical activity and the risk of falling, and today we will discuss assessing if Medicare Advantage patients have urinary incontinence or urine leakage and review options for treatment!

Urinary Incontinence

Assessing Urinary Incontinence

Urinary evacuation is very important in the elderly and actually any kind of bodily evacuation can be difficult to discuss, but doctors routinely bring it up at every visit with the appropriate patients.  Today we’re specifically going to discuss urinary incontinence.

A very common problem in both males and females, in males it can be a problem due to prostate enlargements or bladder dysfunction among other reasons.  Doctors will ask about the quality and frequency of urinary flow and whether you need to get up at night to urinate.  Incontinence is a particularly important issue, especially for quality of life, and we have medications and other non-medical remedies available.  The newest treatment for incontinence involves medications that can help the bladder regulate the frequency of urination.

In females it’s usually due to a decrease in the muscle tone of the pelvic floor.  This can be a result of childbirth.  In females we also use vaginal creams that can soften the mucosa (dry mucosa can be responsible for painful recurring urinary tract infections).  In females we can also recommend kegel exercises which will help strengthen the pelvic floor and hopefully prevent urinary incontinence.  There are also medications we can use that would strengthen the bladder.

The bottom line is that we can help our patients who struggle with urinary issues.  Patients should not feel embarrassed to discuss it with their physician – it is a common issue that we deal with routinely so do not feel like there is “something wrong with you” if you are having trouble with this.  Let’s discuss it and treat it!  Let’s return you to a better quality of life.

***************************************************************************************************************************

Improving The Patient Experience

A little background on this initiative and some highlights 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.

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.

***************************************************************************************************************************

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: Improving The Patient Experience Series Tagged With: Ascension Health Care, Doctor, Doctor's Office, Dr. Scot Goldberg, Internal Medicine, Internist, Macomb, Macomb Doctor, Medical Practice, Medicare Advantage Patients, Metro Detroit, Metro Detroit Doctor, Michigan, Primary Care Medical Home, Urinary Incontinence, Urination, Warren

Improving The Patient Experience: Part 3 – Checking Hgb A1c for Diabetes

October 22nd, 2021

By Dr. Scot Goldberg, MD

Hello everyone!  This is part 3 of a series around how we work towards improving the patient experience!  Part 2 related to checking your blood pressure, and here we are going to discuss the importance of checking your Hgb A1c for diabetes!

Diabetes

We should be screening for diabetes at age 35, and the way we do this is with a blood test called the hemoglobin A1c.  If that is elevated past 6.0 then we recheck in one year.  From 6.0 – 7.0 is considered “pre-diabetes” and over 7.0 is considered diabetes.  For pre-diabetes we treat it with diet and exercise and over 7.0 we add medications to the course of treatment.

As for diet and exercise we’ve mentioned here before that we recommend you exercise 30 minutes per day 5 times per week, and we have the resources to help you with your diet.  You can see our nutritionist Nanette Cameron – she’s fantastic!

So why do we need to treat diabetes?

Most people think that the acute care of diabetes or the blood sugar is more important than chronic care.  For very high sugars people will have increased thirst, urination, and generally poor feeling.  But actually chronic care of diabetes is much more important.  Diabetes is the leading cause of stroke, heart attacks, kidney failure and as a matter of fact can cause problems with any organ if left untreated.

So what is the treatment?

Treatment for diabetes has moved way past insulin shots.  We have even moved past sulfonylurea, metformin and older diabetic medications.  Although these medications have been around for decades and have been shown to be safe, effective and well tolerated, we now have newer medications that are even more effective and safer.  These medications include GLP1 (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists), or SGLT-2 inhibitors (sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors).  If that seems like a lot of acronyms and big words don’t worry – there won’t be a test… haha.  Let me explain:

  • GLP1’s come as a daily oral medication or a weekly self-injection.  Most patients prefer the weekly self-injection for convenience.  This class of medication works very well and has the added benefit of significant weight loss.
  • SGLT-2 inhibitors come as a daily oral medication as well.  It lowers the sugar thresholds in the kidneys so excess sugar in the blood stream is removed via urination.  The newest data shows that it is very effective and prevents heart and kidney disease even in patients who are not diabetic.

***************************************************************************************************************************

Improving The Patient Experience

A little background on this initiative and some highlights 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.

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.

***************************************************************************************************************************

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: Diabetes, Improving The Patient Experience Series Tagged With: Diabetes, Doctor, Doctor's Office, Dr. Scot Goldberg, Hemoglobin A1C, Internal Medicine, Internist, Macomb, Macomb Doctor, Medical Practice, Metro Detroit, Metro Detroit Doctor, Michigan, Patient Centered Medical Home, PCMH, Primary Care Medical Home, Sugar, Type 2 Diabetes, 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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