Blog

by Carol Zernial We’re isolated in our own homes. We can’t just run out to the store. We’re cut off from our family and friends. Coronavirus? No, just an average day in the lives of many caregivers. Caregivers already self-isolate in so many ways. Even when we’re not dealing with an infectious disease, we can […]

By Valdeline Muehl, M.D. In my practice as primary care physician who mostly sees older adults, I have many patients who struggle with health goals. Some need to lose weight. Others aren’t as active as they should be. I realize changing to a healthier lifestyle can be hard, so I encourage them to start small. […]

By Carol Zernial, WellMed Charitable Foundation Executive Director The opportunity to stream new entertainment on televisions and computers is a game changer that allows most of us to find something interesting and fun to watch any time of day or night—a real bonus for caregivers. For those who are not familiar with Star Wars, and […]

By Carol Zernial, WellMed Charitable Foundation Executive Director At the WellMed Charitable Foundation’s recent Caregiver Summit, we had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Liliana Oakes about the impact of stress on the physical and mental health of persons providing care for someone. Many of us have heard that stress is bad for us, but […]

By Carol Zernial, WellMed Charitable Foundation Executive Director Caregivers with the lived experience of providing care often share pearls of wisdom. At a recent caregiver workshop about the positive aspects of caring for a loved one, a woman emotionally asked, “What do we do with the extreme grief that we feel?” A wise and helpful […]

The first thought many people have when they get a sore throat, fever, cough and congestion is that they need antibiotics, but that’s not always the case. Mohita Patel, M.D., a board-certified family care physician with USMD Frisco in Frisco, Texas says antibiotics aren’t always appropriate. While primary care physicians often feel pressured by patients […]

By Jim Jones, Associate Growth Officer, WellMed   The delivery of health care in the Medicare market is rapidly changing. As more and more organizations become involved in Medicare, there is more competition than ever to win over patients and members. As a result, strides have been made in both the patient experience and clinical […]

By Bambi Petrinic, M.D. If you’re having trouble getting to sleep, or staying asleep through the night, you may be tempted to ask your doctor to prescribe sleeping medication. But prescriptions such as Ambien or Lunesta have been shown to have side effects, some serious. Over time, they may even make the problem worse. A […]

By Chris Arnold, M.D. In my years of practicing family medicine, I’ve treated patients for everything from broken bones to influenza. One area in which I have little experience is behavioral health care, but that’s about to change. WellMed has started screening for some of the most common behavioral health disorders that affect our patient […]

It’s hard to go a day without reading a headline or hearing a news story about “the opioid crisis.” Awareness about the dangers of addiction to prescription opioid pain medications is now front and center—and for good reason. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that 115 people in the United States die every day […]