What is primary care? Part 2 What kind of patients do doctors like to see? All kinds! As a doctor, I enjoy caring for everyone, young and old, sick and well! I don’t mind when patients come in with questions based on things they’ve read/seen online so we can sort through what info is based on good medical evidence and what is not. In fact, I enjoy patients who are engaged in their care and ask questions. I enjoy seeing patients for all kinds of visits as well – mental health, physicals, GYN concerns, coughs/colds, etc. I also feel that patients who are honest with me get the most out of their ..read more

What is primary care? Part 1 How do I choose a primary care physician? Choosing a doctor can be difficult! After all, you will be going to this doctor to discuss almost all of your health needs and concerns (at least initially!). You need to be able to trust your doctor and build a relationship with them. Here are some questions to consider along with a few tips for finding a primary care doctor: 1) How easy is it to get in touch with your doctor and their office? a. If you call the office to make your first appointment and end up in a phone tree with 9 choices, followed by needing to be t ..read more

How to Get Rid of Old/Unused Medicines How many unused or expired medicines do you have in your house? It’s ok to admit it. As a family doctor, I hear my patients talk about their “medicine cabinet full of old medicines” all the time. By reading this blog, I hope you will learn why it’s important to not only get rid of those old medicines but how to get rid of them properly. You may think you should flush expired or unused meds down the drain, but that is NOT recommended because they can contaminate our water system. Even if you don’t flush your meds, chances are that someone in your family ..read more

2nd Annual No-reta No-vember No-Hunger Food Drive Our first food drive at Noreta Family Medicine last year was so successful that we decided to bring it back again in 2023! We are pleased to have partnered with Harvest Hope again this year to collect both food and monetary donations to help our Midlands neighbors. The drive is running from Nov. 1-Nov. 30 and everyone is invited to participate, regardless of whether you have a connection to Noreta or not. Harvest Hope runs many programs including emergency and mobile food pantries, and child and senior feeding programs. They also distribute ..read more

Amputations, Community Health Workers, and a Healthier Columbia The State newspaper published an investigative article in 2022 called “Cut Off” about the high rate of leg amputations (due to diabetes) in the 29203 zip code, which is in the middle of South Carolina’s capital city. Not only was the amputation rate high in 2016, but according to the article, it was the HIGHEST rate among zip codes in the South with a similar population. The effects of an amputation are devastating; 52-80% of these patients die within 5 years of their amputation. The article cites problems such as lack of access ..read more

Health Tips for Small Business Owners I was recently asked to give a talk to the BETR Business Networking Group in Northeast Columbia, SC about how to stay healthy as a small business owner. I wanted to give this talk from both a primary care physician (PCP) and small business owner perspective. I personally know the challenges of owning and running a small business in South Carolina very well! This is not a complete list, but here are a few selected topics that come up frequently at Noreta Family Medicine, so here we go!  Eat well – While this may seem cliché, eating well is VERY impor ..read more

Walk with a Doc- Columbia S.C. We are almost 9 months into our journey with the Columbia, SC chapter of Walk with a Doc (WWAD). I thought I would write down a few reflections. When I asked my co-founder, fellow family doctor, Dr. Victoria Leventis-Shew, if she wanted to start this chapter with me, I did it on a whim. We had separately heard about Walk with a Doc on a podcast we were both listening to, and one day, the light bulb went on and I realized we should do this in Columbia! I was intrigued by the idea of bringing the doctor’s office outside in a casual way and by being able to partic ..read more

Multi-cancer Detection Blood Tests I’ve been getting more questions about whether there is a blood test to tell you if you have cancer. Several companies recently started marketing blood tests that screen for multiple different types of cancer, aka: multi-cancer detection tests, sometimes known as “liquid biopsies.” I first heard about the technology used in these tests about 5-6 years ago when I was learning about a stool test that looks for colon cancer at my previous practice here in Columbia, SC. Since that time, technology has advanced, and tests are now available that can look for mult ..read more

The Power of Music A recent study published in Nature showed that people who had no musical background who took piano lessons for one hour per week for 11 weeks were better able to recognize changes in sights and sounds around them. Perhaps more importantly, these folks also saw a decrease in depression, anxiety and stress levels. Since the mental health concerns mentioned in this study are frequent complaints that I discuss with patients in my family medicine office, I paid special attention to this study. Although piano was the only instrument mentioned in the study above, other stud ..read more

A Doctor’s Prescription – Part 4 – Why I Love Family Medicine Welcome back for Part 4 of my blog series on Dr. John Fisher’s recent article in Notre Dame Magazine, a letter to pre-med college students titled, “A Doctor’s Prescription.” You can read Dr. Fisher’s very thoughtful article HERE. This article caused me to reflect on not only my pre-med days, but on the reasons I chose to become a family doctor. Without question I would choose to become a family physician again, and so this final blog series entry is an ode to family medicine. I recently came across an absolutely beautifully produc ..read more