Does it feel like you are pushing the boulder uphill with some of your diabetes visits? Your patients with diabetes have a self-managed disease. If they see you for a (generous) 30-minute visit 4x/year, that is 2 hours of guidance and coaching. But they can’t take you home with them. And that leaves about 8,758

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Cannabis is not new to Georgia – it has existed in many forms here (and worldwide) for centuries. What is new to Georgia, is LEGAL Medical Cannabis. Low THC oil was made legal in Georgia in 2015 by then Governor Deal. This law legalized the possession of limited amounts of Low THC oil for medicinal

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He sat comfortably in the overstuffed chair in the dimly lit room. He had just started a buprenorphine induction in our clinic and was on the other side of his moderate opioid withdrawal symptoms. The patient, I’ll call John, became more talkative than when he arrived for his appointment earlier in the day. The conversation

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One of my favorite “non-clinical” conversations to have is the effective utilization of Physician Assistants.  This conversation has evolved in the last two decades. The two driving forces for change include my role in this world and the world itself.   I’d like to think my role has evolved for the better, from clinical, to administrative,

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At The Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan, the answer is a resounding NO. In 2001, Henry Ford Behavioral Health pioneered a concept known as “zero suicides” with a goal to develop the ability to assess and modify suicide risk for patients with depression. After implementing this program, for 18 months in 2009 and

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As I listen to my patient’s heart sounds, I glance down at his hands. I see the tell-tale tremor as they are resting in his lap. There are other troubling signs surfacing as I continue my exam that point to alcohol withdrawal. Fortunately, this patient is here at the outpatient recovery clinic to start a

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A CNN article published early in the New Year confirms the fear that many of us have had for months.  Those of us tasked with keeping our young patients healthy from COVID are struggling to keep them healthy in general.  As noted by Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez in the attached article, “The pandemic created the perfect

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Are you wondering if it’s safe to attend GAPA’s in-person event in 2021?  That’s a great question. Over the 2020 Labor Day Holiday, our veteran event team successfully navigated unchartered territories and hosted GAPA’s annual conference not only in-person but also via live stream and on-demand. We educated hundreds of clinicians safely by social distancing, requiring face masks,

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The marketing and promotion of controlled drugs reveal public health risks when they are highly prescribed and aggressively promoted. It was approaching noon hour, and I was finishing up documentation of my previous patient. Absorbed in this task, I did not look up to see who the physician was talking to in the hallway a

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