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Wow! What a title! It packs a LOT into a few words. When a family physician, a primary care physician, has to consider how to advise a patient, this is going to include what is called "shared decision making." And never has this been more relevant than during the current times. As we head into Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the Heartland of our nation facing unprecedented sickness and deaths from COVID 19, we ALL must make difficult decisions about personal safety, but also that safety of t

This is a confession. It's not pretty. But it happened and reminded me of my commitment to justice in medicine. My partner, Althea Tyndall-Smith MD, and I left employed positions as Family Medicine physicians in order to practice medicine in a manner that honored ourselves as physicians, as wives and mothers, and that honored our patients just as much. We stepped off "the treadmill" of frantic running from room to room, documenting enough "bullets" on our EHR notes to make sure and capture al

Coronavirus, named by the CDC 2019-NCoV, has arrived in the United States. Reports of severe illness, hospitalization, and death have prompted many questions about the risk to ourselves and our families here in Gainesville, Florida. When faced with questions regarding communicable diseases, the best source of information that I have found is the Center for Disease Control website: CDC.gov. It is CRUCIAL that objective, scientific sources be sought instead of second or third (or fourth or fift

The most common reason that people come to the physician is that something is wrong. Often, it is due to symptoms that have either not responded to normal over-the-counter medications and "tincture of time," or it is due to the patient being concerned that it is more serious than the troublesome but largely benign viral illness or rash. One of the most IMPORTANT reasons to establish with, and come in to see, your physician is for health screening. A screening test or evaluation is something th

Gainesville Direct Primary Care Physicians currently offers patients a choice between Althea Tyndall-Smith, MD, and Shenary Cotter, MD. Both physicians graduated from accredited schools of medicine, and completed three year residencies in Family Medicine. In addition to completing residency, multiple arduous and comprehensive tests were successfully completed in order to get into medical school, pass from the second year to the third year of medical school, pass each clinical rotation during m

Fall is the Season of Pumpkin Spice, Gator Games, and .....open enrollment. This is a GREAT TIME to decrease your commercial insurance plan coverage (which will make your plan less expensive), and add a membership with Gainesville Direct Primary Care Physicians. The money saved by doing this, even with the added membership, most often results in a net savings for the member or family. Let's look at this more closely! First, what exactly is "open enrollment," and why does it exist? Health Insu

OK, hang with me here. We are going to start with an analogy. Imagine that every issue related to your car was subject to the question, "does my auto policy cover that?" Yes, collisions and accidents, absolutely. But what about cleaning the fuel injector? Periodic oil changes? Replacing the tires as they normally wear out, with age and use? What about cleaning the carpet, or repairing upholstery tears? Periodic "check ups" and "diagnostics?" If your auto policy "covered" these things, what

Gainesville Direct Primary Care Physicians proudly promotes the Board Certification status of myself and my partner, Althea Tyndall-Smith MD. But what does this mean, and why should you care? For physicians, Board Certification is a designation that requires three steps. The first two steps take a minimum of 11 years, and include a four year bachelor degree, four years of medical school, and a residency (apprenticeship training) of at least 3 years. The last step is an ongoing process that c