Happy summer, friends!
I hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying these beautiful days with friends and family. Yes, we have to still pay attention to COVID precautions (the BA.5 variant is still on a roll), but no, you do not need to worry about Monkeypox (and rest assured we are watching this space carefully). Better, will be for you to continue your “weight bearing exercise” (read more about Osteoporosis prevention below) and perhaps even combine that with a visit to this year’s King’s Mountain Art Fair which is in person (and online) this year. Read more about that below, as well.
I also want to take this opportunity to remind you of the best ways to reach your team at The Village Doctor for your medical needs. Let me again emphasize that the best way to reach us for any time sensitive matter is via phone. Day, evening, or after hours, please simply pick up the phone (see how old I am) and give us a call. We’re here from 9a to 5p answering phones, and after hours our Answering Service does a good job tracking down your physician (or sometimes the covering physician) to address your needs and concerns.
Non-urgent messaging is best communicated to us via our Passport Portal. The Village Doctor uses a HIPAA compliant, concierge medicine oriented, internet-based communication electronic medical records software called Elation. The embedded portal is called Elation Passport. Your Village Doctor team lives in this software. All communication with you and about your care is consolidated in your chart to ensure it is a comprehensive record of your care. Yes, there is the hassle of needing to log in (made easier if you use a “password manager”, or even easier if you download and use the Passport “app” for your phone), but let me share with you the advantages of using our Portal. Note that these advantages likely also apply to our newsletter readers who are not TVD patients who may have access to a similar Portal with a different healthcare team.
Your TVD Portal messages:
- are delivered to the top of the portal inbox in your chart (I know what your email inbox looks like)
- won’t risk being filtered into an email spam folder and lost
- are routed to the correct person so we can help you efficiently (scheduling questions go to our Front Desk Concierge, referral and refill questions to your MA, questions about your health go to your doctor)
- will be seen by your physician, MA, or — very importantly — the covering physician
- and are, of course, secure and HIPAA compliant
There are also several other big advantages to using our Passport Portal:
- automatic sharing of your “care plan” after clinic (or Zoom) visits via email
- access to your chart so you can view your “clinical profile” which includes your allergies, problem list, past medical & surgical history, medications, vaccine history, your specialists, emergency contacts, and more. You can appreciate how having you see what we see (and updating us as appropriate) can be very, very valuable.
- notification (to your TVD team) if you do not open a Portal message from us (our Portal messages can include lab results, consult notes, referrals, and more).
OK, hopefully I’ve sold you on the value of using our Portal system. Note of course that we also have email, and with your (written) permission we can email you medical information. Our Elation system will also use email to send you Zoom links, advise you of pending Portal messages as above, and to remind you about appointments. (Note that appointment reminders can be via text messaging, if you prefer.) Elation reminders and Zoom links do not contain any medical information. So again, for anything time sensitive, please call us. If not time sensitive, please give our Passport Portal a try! As always, I look forward to your feedback.
In health, and good communication,
Eric Weiss, MD, August 5, 2022
HELPING YOUR CHILD DEVELOP A HEALTHY SENSE OF SELF ESTEEM
A child’s sense of self-esteem is fundamentally the result of how she perceives herself, her abilities, and her confidence in her ability to navigate her environment. It is also greatly influenced by the perceptions and expectations of important people in her life, starting with parents and family members, and extending to teachers, coaches, schoolmates, and other adult role models.
WHAT IS OSTEOPOROSIS AND OSTEOPENIA?
In today’s blog I want to address a problem that affects about 54 million of our fellow Americans. Non-Hispanic White and Asian American women make up the bulk of that number. Amongst men Non-Hispanic White men are more often affected than others. Quite often I hear from men that Osteoporosis is a female problem only. While Osteoporosis does affect mostly women, it isn’t uncommon amongst men at all. As a matter of fact, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over the age of 50 Worldwide will suffer a broken bone due to bone density losses.
Please come to the Kings Mountain Online Art Fair, 2022. The Fair showcases juried original art by over 130+ independent artists and 15 Kings Mountain artists. The Fair is in-person and online this year! You can visit with the artists at the Fair or shop their websites for extraordinary art. Join this experience by visiting Labor Day Weekend, www.kingsmountainartfair.org. The Fair is open, 10 am – 5 pm, PDT.
If you are unable to shop, please consider making a donation to support our Kings Mountain Volunteer Fire. Brigade. The Fair’s proceeds support this important community resource which protects all of us in Woodside and on the Peninsula from wildfires and assists in medical aid and rescue. Our Fair is run 100% by volunteers who work hard to support the Fair and KM Fire department.
Thank you for your support,
Kings Mountain Art Fair.
Again, TVD Newsletter is a labor of love. If you enjoy reading this, please share widely! Was this forwarded to you by a friend? Please subscribe here.
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Yours, in health and resilience,
Eric and the TVD MD team…
