Blog

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 […]

by Munawar Hayat, MD You were in a minor fender bender on the way to work. You’ve gained five more pounds instead of dropping the five you gained during the holidays. The presentation you’re supposed to give next week got moved up—to tomorrow. Yep, stress is part of our daily lives. It not only makes […]

by Hedieh Davanloo, MD Though most people are familiar with the benefits of eating a heart healthy diet of lean protein and plenty of fruits and vegetables, recent studies show that such as diet is also good for another important organ. “It turns out a heart-healthy diet also helps protect the brain,” says Hedieh Davanloo, […]

by A. Brooke Hall, DO We all know the old saying: Change is inevitable. Our minds may accept the notion, but sometimes it’s a little harder to accept emotionally. While we can’t control all the changes in our lives, we can control many of them. In fact, Change can be good! Nothing is more empowering […]

by Chong Joy Yun, MD Summertime is synonymous with fun in the sun, especially for those who enjoy the long hours and abundant water activities. The down side is that all that sun can damage the skin. “It’s easy to forget that the skin is the body’s largest organ,” says Chong Yun, M.D., a board-certified […]