Early home treatment of COVID-19

We at John Diggs MD are convinced that early home treatment of COVID-19 can decrease hospitalization, prolonged side effects, and death. The booklet attached HERE outlines the principles for priming your immune system and the rationale for treatment.

Highlights Include:

• You will encounter the virus.

• Prepare your immune system to win the battle with any pathogens by using a few select supplements if acceptable to your doctor.

• It is better to treat an infection early rather than wait until dire measures are required.

• The medicines that are recommended are well established and cost-contained.

The primary mission of our office is to provide high-level care to our members. However, because so many people with COVID infection have trouble getting treated, we are accepting treatment of those persons who meet all 3 criteria:

1.       They have been tested for coronavirus

2.       They have a doctor

3.       Their doctor does not agree with early treatment

If you have further questions, please review the website and read the booklet, then call our office at (413) 300-2233

Treating COVID-19 at home with your doctor's help

A major medical journal has recently released information that will help you and your doctor manage COVID-19 at home in the case that you test positive, but do not have severe enough symptoms to merit a hospital stay. Respiratory pandemics tend to spread until “herd immunity” is obtained. That does not mean one should sit back until it strikes. Remember, masks and social distancing were never thought to stop the pandemic – only slow the spread. Enclosed is information to help you and your doctor give you the best possible outcome. Time is essential. Watch the video below for more information.

Open Enrollment: An opportunity to explore direct primary care (DPC)

Direct Primary Care directly connects you, the patient, to your doctor without the interference of a middleman. This philosophy is spelled out on my website in the embedded pamphlet “Common Sense Medicine.” The goal is to enable you to get the most out of your medical visits without being rushed through inconvenient, short visits where you barely have a chance to recite your concerns and have them thoughtfully addressed.

During the open enrollment period, there is an opportunity to make room for membership fees for a direct primary care practice that puts you in the driver’s seat for managing your health concerns. One strategy is to combine a high deductible insurance plan with a health savings account (HSA). An HSA is generally a much better option than the older Flexible Spending Account (FSA).

With my membership model, primary care medical costs are much more predictable. The membership fee covers all expenses incurred in my office. No surprise billing, no co-pays, and no charges for procedures, injections, and selected skin care. Your membership also includes an unlimited number of visits. Furthermore, your questions can be fully explored, including non-traditional approaches, and results from “Dr. Google.”

Call or drop by the office to discuss our practice to determine how it will benefit you.

413-300-2233

John Diggs MD

Direct Primary Care: Frank Thoughts on Membership

My personal interest in medicine stems from a holistic view of the person being a spirit and mind in a body. Optimum health is the excellent coordination of all three aspects. Of course, we live in a world where the Second Law of Thermodynamics is true: all things run down over time, including our bodies. Or, as Geoffrey Chaucer put it, “Time and tide wait for no man.”

Of 7 billion people on the planet, we all have our own DNA, sensitivities, and interactions with our environment. Consequently, although we have made great strides in medical care, each of our bodies communicates with us differently. Each patient communicates with doctors differently. It is a challenge to be a doctor. I gladly take on this challenge, with the goal of applying my experience and perpetual training to the mystery which is every unique human being.

The new office that I am opening in Wilbraham, MA, is physically designed to optimize care and prevent cross-contamination from other patients. It is brand new. It is beautiful!

I believe that patients find doctors and doctors find patients that are compatible with each other. At the end of the day, people vote with their feet. I had the pleasure of having the largest primary care practice in the Baystate system. My style of practice is personal and interactive. I ask a lot of questions in an effort to understand each person’s individual attitudes, priorities and previous experiences. Some people like that; some people do not.

Direct Primary Care does not appeal to everyone. While it can save money in some instances, the emphasis is on quality service more than lower cost. The cost savings are sometimes unrecognized. For example:

• See me on time rather than an hour or more after your scheduled time. You don’t have to take a half day off work.

• For urgent but not emergent care, you can usually be seen on short notice. I can periodically arrange visits outside the usual office hours

• Catch illness before it develops to the degree that emergency care (and ER co-pays) are necessary

Direct Primary Care practices are more common in other areas of the country, and I am looking forward to bringing this model to New England!

Come check us out. Meet-and-greet sessions and some community-based information sessions are in the process of being scheduled.

Education: Prime Your Immune System

As an Internist, I have a deep interest in the scientific background of the pandemic. However, I have a deeper interest in what each of us as individuals can do to optimize our health, even in this setting.

1.       Stop habits which impair your immune system: smoking (all), illicit drug use, excess alcohol, excess carbohydrates (sugars and starches) in the diet.

2.       Drink plenty of water to keep mucus membranes moist.

3.       Exercise for 20 minutes at least 4 times per week.

4.       Get good quality sleep.

5.       Consider regular supplementation with vitamins A, C, D, and E.

Once my office is up and running, infection prevention will be at a premium. Part of the disinfection process will utilize ultraviolet-C lanterns for surface and air decontamination. The chances of you being infected by viruses left by previous patients is greatly reduced.

Please use the official sites to keep track of the latest recommendations.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html

Education: How COVID-19 Affects the Lungs

Good day,

I have some fascinating images for you to review today. This “fly through,” created by a specialized CT scan at George Washington University Hospital in Washington DC, shows some important characteristics about the COVID-19 virus. It was released by Dr. Keith Mortman. There is no sound, so please read the following explanation before viewing the video.

Watch video HERE.

What you see on the link is an image of the lungs of a real patient. The ribs are a peachy color. The white filmy shapes are the left and right lungs, inside the ribs. The blue branching structures are the airways. The yellow blobs show places where the virus has infected the lungs. Most pneumonias attack one specific segment or lobe of the lungs. Most often, the lung regains full function when the infection resolves.

In the case of COVID-19, you can see that the infection and lung involvement is diffuse, affecting both sides, upper and lower segments of the lung. The virus tends to destroy lung tissue. As a consequence, lung function is frequently permanently impaired.

Normal gas exchange does not occur in the airway (bronchioles) but in the spongy part of the lungs where the alveoli are located. That is where the virus and the body’s over-reaction (inflammation) occur. Hence, without proper gas exchange, the patient becomes short of breath, sometimes to the degree that they exhaust themselves. They need respirators to do the work of breathing and higher-than-normal concentrations of oxygen to feed the body properly. When the patient recovers, the infection and inflammation resolve. In the severely ill, lung tissue destruction can cause permanent breathing impairment.

As mentioned previously, with viruses, prevention is better than cure.

John Diggs MD

In the Office: Exclusive Sanitization Technology

Our office will employ non-toxic infection-prevention technology that not only cleans surfaces, but will clear the air around you so that patients don’t catch organisms left behind by the previous patient! We’ll be using UV-C technology—the same sanitizing technology used in operating rooms—to keep you safe and healthy. This technique is almost never used in an office setting—we’re ahead of the curve!

Our goal is to get, and keep, you healthy. We will offer remote tele-medicine visits for no extra charge, and combine traditional Western medicine (allopathic) with complementary medicine techniques. Additionally, we will offer regular educational information on our website exclusively for members, as well as periodic seminars.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be notified of new patient registration and other updates!

Working Together for Your Health

Our new, solo, primary care, exclusive office is under construction in Wilbraham. Keep an eye out for photos—we can’t wait to show you!

Whether you’re a longtime patient of Dr. Diggs, or a new patient who is ready to take charge of your health, we pledge to continue our commitment to thoroughness, education, written instructions, and personal care. Every body is unique. So all treatment is personal.  One-size-fits-all care fits no one. The principal of "Uniformity," cherished in corporate medicine, is not good for you.

As an independent practice, we will improve on previous patterns of communication (no call centers), availability (sometimes on the same day), and timeliness (minimal in-office waiting). Decisions will be made by Dr. Diggs in your best interest rather than by unreachable administrators beholden to a Corporation.

Be empowered! We want you to understand your healthcare. In the increasingly complex, jargon-laden field of medicine, we believe that it is important for patients to know what’s going on in their own bodies.

After all, it’s your health!