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OSTEOPOROSIS
SCAN
Osteoporosis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity
in both men and women. Osteoporosis means thinning of the
bones over time. Bone mass (thickness, strength) is partly
genetic but also is affected by smoking, body size, exercise,
medicines, alcohol etc. We offer thorough evaluation for
both women and men via a DEXA Osteoporosis scanner. We scan
the two most important parts of the body directly; the hip
and the lower spine. These are the parts of the body that
if fractured, have the biggest effect on your life in terms
of pain and suffering.
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PULMONARY
FUNCTION TEST
Pulmonary Function Testing allows your provider to assess
the function of your lungs. Many factors affect lung function.
Advancing age, smoking, heredity, and environmental factors
all affect how well your lungs work. Shortness of breath,
Difficulty with breathing during exercises and activities,
Asthma, Chronic Lung Disease, Emphysema all can be assessed
by basic breathing tests done in our office.
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MAMMOGRAM
Mammograms are front line defense against breast cancer.
We can arrange for prompt thorough mammograms done by several
imaging centers nearby. We will make the appointment with
you, check with your insurance regarding coverage etc. We
are promptly notified of any abnormality and provide for
immediate follow up.
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| CHEST
X RAYS
Chest X rays
remain very useful in the evaluation of chest pain, cough,
pneumonia, bronchitis, shortness of breath, etc. Although
cat scans are superior for tumor or mass evaluation, CXR's
are still the main diagnostic test for initial evaluation
of many complaints, symptoms, signs, conditions, etc. We
can arrange for prompt thorough CXR's done by several imaging
centers nearby. We are promptly notified of any abnormality
and provide for immediate follow up.
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| STRESS
TEST
Heart Disease
remains the Number One cause of death in both men and women.
Exercise Stress Testing remains a front line test in the
evaluation of chest pain, palpitations, fluttering in the
chest, exertional shortness of breath, etc. We also offer
routine stress testing for patients who want to begin an
exercise program or who need evaluation of cardiac risk,
as smokers, patients with hypertension, elevated cholesterol,
family history, etc.
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| SIGMOIDOSCOPY
AND BARIUM ENEMA
Although colonoscopy
(long flexible camera) is the gold standard for colon cancer
evaluation and surveillance, the sigmoidoscopy (shorter
flexible camera) as well as barium enema (using x rays to
visualize the farther part of the colon), remains a reasonable
choice. We have a long experience with this cheaper, safer,
but still very thorough alternative. Dr. Barry and Dr. Knudsen
are very experienced with this equipment. Any significant
abnormalities are referred on for further workup.
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| HEMOCCULT
CARDS
These paper
cards are used by patients to provide tiny samples (of stool)
to the staff to check for blood in the bowel movement. Occult
(hidden) blood in the stool is an important sign of trouble
in the gastrointestinal track including ulcers, cancer etc.
Full instructions are provided with the cards. This is an
unbelievably quick way to screen for colon and stomach problems.
This is a basic and initial test only and we strongly suggest
using these cards in conjunction with a thorough cancer-screening
program.
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| LIVING
WILL
End of life
issues are very important but also very often overlooked
by patients and their families. We can help you with free
forms for both living will and health care proxy's to cover
these very basic and important documents.
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| HOME
BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKS
High Blood
Pressure is a common killer and crippler. People with hypertension
have greatly increased risk for stroke, blindness, kidney
failure, and heart disease. We strongly urge all patients
with high blood pressure to check their pressures periodically.
This is best done via home monitoring. We have a number
of blood pressure machines which we will lend to patients
as time permits. Just as monitoring your sugar is important
if you are diabetic, so is monitoring your blood pressure
if you have hypertension. The more careful you are controlling
your blood pressure the better the benefits. We cannot recommend
monitoring of your home blood pressure strongly enough.
This is true whether you are taking medication or not.
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| WEAR
YOUR SEATBELTS
Accidents are
the fifth leading cause of death in this country. Staying
off of your roof, being careful with ladders and wearing
a seatbelt are three very easy ways to ensure better safety
at home.
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| INCREASE
CALCIUM INTAKE
As discussed
elsewhere osteoporosis is an important health concern. All
women should take sufficient, calcium in their diet to keep
from losing bone. We have a lot of information on supplements
calcium intake and your bone health. The recommendations
for using calcium span many lifestyles, nationalities, and
age groups.
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| KNOW
YOUR MEDICATIONS AND ALLERGIES
We think it's
crucial to your health care to know exactly what medicines
you are taking and why. Also knowing to allergies could
be very important to you. In today's world many patients
see multiple doctors. You can't count on your doctors having
seamless communication between them. You're responsible
for your pills, and it makes a lot of sense having all your
medicines written down on one piece of paper. We strongly
urge all patients to have all the medicines written down
on a piece of paper and to carry it with them. Of course
we would like to know every pill you're taking. Any time
you visit another physician you should make sure that any
changes in medicines are noted by you and reported to us.
Literally thousands of lives are lost every year because
of medication errors. Don't be one of them. We have preprinted
sheets to list your medicines for you to use.
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| HOME
GLUCOSE MONITORING
Just as its
very important for hypertensive patients to check their
blood pressure at home, it's also very important for diabetics
to monitor their own sugar. Diabetes is a very common cause
of blindness, heart disease, premature stroke, and kidney
failure. Close monitoring of your diabetes at home is essential
to lower your risks for these complications. We are very
happy and very well equipped to teach you how to measure
your sugar at home very easily. Our nurse practitioners
have years of experience with diabetes. We can work with
your endocrinologist as well to keep your diabetes under
control. Diabetic testing equipment is increasingly available
and covered by insurance.
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| IMMUNIZATION
UPDATE
Infection is
the fifth leading cause of death in America. Every year
more people died from flu and pneumonia that died during
the Vietnam War. The flu shot, it is universally available
from drugstores to your local church to the senior citizen
center and yes we have it in our office. The Pneumovax vaccine
is a special vaccine designed to protect the patient from
pneumococcal pneumonia. This is a common cause of pneumonia
but the vaccine cannot protect the patient from all causes
of pneumonia. Currently the pneumonia shot is offered to
children and the elderly, but we believe that all adults
should strongly consider this vaccination.
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| MINOR
SKIN SURGERY
Several of
our physicians have extensive experience in minor surgery
both in lesion removal/biopsy and same day repair of minor
lacerations that occur at home or work. No Emergency Room
wait, no uncertainty regarding your tetanus/immunization
status. Nationally certified pathology lab used for tissue
diagnosis. We know what we can handle in the office and
when to refer to the surgeons.
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| SIGMOIDOSCOPY
/ (Bowel Cancer Screening)
Colon cancer
is one of the top three killers for adult men and women.
It is the only cancer we know that can be cured completely
without any chemo / major surgery. The very best time to
check for colon cancer is before any symptoms. If you believe
in mammograms you should also believe in a bowel check for
cancer. They share the same principle. Checking a part of
the body for cancer, just to be safe, even without symptoms.
We offer office based sigmoidoscopy (to check the most important
areas for cancer) matched with barium enemas but are very
happy to refer patients to colonscopy if symptoms warrant
or patients request.
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| CARDIAC
STRESS TESTS
Heart Disease
is the number one cause of death in both men and women.
We deal with the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of
the full spectrum of heart disease. Of course, we work with
cardiologist but we can offer a full array of diagnostic
heart evaluations including cardiac ultrasound to evaluate
valvular heart disease and general heart function. We offer
in office stress tests to evaluate for both symptomatic
and a symptomatic patients. We have an emphasis in evaluating
your overall health risks and advising accordingly.
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| BONE
DENSITY / OSTEOPOROSIS EVAL
Our office
has been involved at infancy of the evaluation and treatment
of osteoporosis. Hip and spine fractures kill thousands
and thousands of adults each year. Finally we have agents
that can possibly make a difference and decrease fracture
risk. Bone mass and density can easily be checked and the
patient counseled in office regarding available treatments
and dietary guidelines. Our DEXA scanner was just inspected
2/04 and passed in all quality assurance and safety issues.
In fact we passed without any deficiencies period.
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| DIABETIC
COUNSELING
Diabetes is
a killer. It's also the most common cause of blindness and
kidney failure in America. We offer comprehensive diabetic
screening and management. We believe diabetic control means
patient direct diary involvement in their care. We deal
with the hypoglycemic patient, the prediabetic, syndrome
X , and the insulin dependent diabetic on dialysis. We work
with the "recognized regional centers of excellence"
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| IMMUNIZATIONS
We strongly
suggest you let us be the central resource for your immunizations.
We keep track of your shots and what you need and what you
might want. Having one place that has accurate records of
your shots could prove invaluable in case of accident, emergency
or in school or employment requirements.
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| ON-SITELAB
Having a certified,
monitored, accredited on-site-lab allows for a very rapid
turn around of important lab results that can affect the
decisions regarding whether or not to hospitalize someone,
frequency of next follow up or need for additional urgent
testing. The lab answers to the physicians who answer to
you the patient ...not your insurance company.
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| ROUTINE
SCHOOL AND EMPLOYMENT EXAM
We offer school,
employment, and athletic physicals. We handle all the appropriate
paperwork, review the immunizations, perform and document
the exam etc. Usually we can offer very quick appointment
times. Physicians do DOT physicals and Independent Medical
Examinations.
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| EKG
The EKG remains
a first line tool in the office diagnosis of chest pain
and palpitations, as well as preoperative evaluation for
surgery. The EKG can provide a wealth of information regarding
the heart and its health, and we have collectively reviewed
thousands and thousands of these tracings.
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