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!