Tag Archives: primary care

The Changing Healthcare Environment

A Q&A with Medical Director, Dr. Jerry Levine

Q:  Dr. Levine, what are your impressions of the current healthcare environment, and its impact on you as a primary care physician?

A:  Today’s healthcare environment requires doctors not only to provide good care, but also measure and document good outcomes using electronic record keeping.  The challenge is to do this while maintaining the one on one individual patient focus that has always been fundamental to our care. 

At MPCP, we are continuing to develop effective practices to deal with these changes, as we remain focused on our patients’ well- being. The role of primary care providers is now more important than ever.  Family practitioners and internal medicine specialists are on the forefront in the areas of disease prevention and wellness.  We want to be partners in keeping our patients healthy, and as the population ages, this partnership will be even more critical.

Q:  How do you think MPCP is positioned to deal with these changes, while continuing to provide quality care?

A:  We are well prepared in many ways:

  1. Almost 10 years ago, we began with EMR (electronic medical records) to document patient care and outcomes;
  2. We recognize and have responded to patients’ need for more convenient access to care, including early morning, evening, and Saturday hours at most practices;
  3. We’ve adopted electronic transmission of prescriptions to pharmacies which is proven to reduce errors; and,
  4. We have established a strong physician recruitment program to maintain an excellent team of primary care doctors in the MPCP network.

Q: What one piece of advice would you give to patients about staying as healthy as possible?

A: We all live busy lives, but the best thing we can do to stay healthy is to make priorities of sleep, eating a healthy diet, and regular exercise (150 minutes/week).  These are by far the most important things we can do, in addition to regular follow-ups and preventive care with your doctor.  Another preventive measure is staying current on health screenings and adult vaccinations.

Jerry I. Levine, M.D., FACP

How Primary Care Can Save Your Life

by Neil Padgett, M.D.

Dr. Neil Padgett, is a Partner and Clinical Director for Maryland Primary Care
Physicians in Glen Burnie, MD with 20 years experience as an internist and epidemiologist. In a recent interview he had the following to say about the vital role primary care medicine plays in the early detection and treatment of life-threatening illnesses.

In the early 20th century the three most common fatal diseases were pneumonia, tuberculosis, and diarrhea. With the introduction of antibiotics and improved housing and sanitation, these problems are now much less common. Although they remain challenges in many third world countries, in western industrialized nations, infectious diseases like these are major public health threats only with people weakened as a result of illness, and smokers.

In their place, today’s three top causes of death in the developed world are heart disease, cancer, and stroke; all of which are “silent killers” that take years, even decades to develop and present symptoms. The real danger of these diseases is by the time they progress to the stage at which they are discovered, it’s generally too late. A sobering statistic that Dr. Padgett used to drive this point home is the fact that the first symptom in heart disease 20% of the time………. is death.

The mission of primary care physicians, beyond treating the common illnesses that prompt most people to see a doctor, is to improve the quality of life of their patients. This is accomplished by screening for these less obvious diseases, so they can be detected and treated at early stages. Some of the most common screenings are for prostate, colon and breast cancers, as well as diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. The ultimate goal being detection and treatment of these diseases as early as possible, increasing the odds of a patient living a full and healthy life.

Dr. Padgett cites a recent example of a patient who came to his office for a same day appointment complaining of back pain that had been bothering him for two weeks with no improvement. The attending physician, Dr. Allison Williams was concerned with the way the pain was radiating into the patient’s back so she ordered a chest x-ray. The x-rays showed a spot on the lung, therefore Dr. Williams ordered additional tests, which indicated a potentially serious problem. The patient was referred to an oncologist, who confirmed early stage lung cancer and performed surgery shortly thereafter. As a result of early detection and intervention, this patient is now cancer-free. In speaking with Dr. Williams about what prompted her to pursue such a thorough screening process for a seemingly minor ailment, she said that her sensitivity to and recognition of the less obvious signs of cancer had been heightened by the experience she went through in losing her mother to lung cancer four years ago.

In conclusion, Dr. Padgett emphasizes the importance of seeing your primary care physician on a regular basis. He explains when a doctor has an established relationship with a patient, he’s both familiar with that individual’s medical history, and he knows when a reaction or behavior is out of character, which can signal a potential problem.

Neil Padgett, M.D.Dr. Padgett is a Maryland Primary Care Physicians, LLC partner and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1984 and completed his residency program in Internal Medicine at University of Maryland Medical Center in 1987.