Sage Health Family Medicine Frequently Asked Questions

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• Q. How often do I need to see my doctor for regular checkups?
• Q. I feel perfectly healthy. Why do I need a checkup now?
• Q. Seems like all my checkups are the same. Is there any other benefit to checkups?
• Q. What can my checkup NOT do?
• Q. How can I benefit from the time spent with my doctor?
• Q. What kind of procedures do you do in the office?

Q. How often do I need to see my doctor for regular checkups?

Most people should have yearly checkups. Very young people (Infants and newborns) and people with medical conditions (e.g. diabetes) need more frequent checkups.

Q. I feel perfectly healthy. Why do I need a checkup now?

If your car is running perfectly without doing oil changes and routine maintenance, it may well run that well for thousands of miles more, but chances are, your next breakdown will happen earlier because of neglect. It's like we have huge reserves built into everything -- heart, lungs, pancreas. There are no symptoms until you use up that reserve, then things go rapidly downhill. By seeing the doctor regularly, we can try to detect problems and minimize the damage they do.

Q. Seems like all my checkups are the same. Is there any other benefit to checkups?

Medical science rapidly improves our understanding and treatment of disease and health. Screening tests must undergo a tough round of experiments. When the tests prove valuable in preventing death or disease, and when they can be done on a large scale, the tests become part of your checkup.

Q. What can my checkup NOT do?

Medicine does not have and may never have all the answers. Each piece of the puzzle we place opens up a far greater set of challenges. And this is actually a good thing! One day, perhaps, we can all be healthy, brilliant, and attractive for as long as we so desire. But in the meantime, we have as a species come far in improving health, lifespans, and living conditions. My children will also have a healthier, longer life because of scientific discovery.
In the meantime, try to keep our skills as doctors in perspective. We know we can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. We know we can slow or prevent long-term diseases like diabetes and kidney disease. We can lessen the impact of debilitating disease like rheumatoid arthritis. We can detect colon, skin , and cervical cancers early, and we can save lives as a result. Lung cancer testing, for example, has not proven effective at saving lives. Pancreatic and ovarian cancers often appear so suddenly that no test can detect them early enough.
Also, we can't seem to replace good habits like stopping smoking, or eating right, getting enough sleep, and exercising.

Q. How can I benefit from the time spent with my doctor?

I think the time spent with your doctor should pay dividends both immediately and in the long term. I want to set clear goals and let you know exactly where you stand right now. For example, I will tell you you need to keep your HbA1c to <7%, but you're currently at 8.5%. NOT: "Your diabetes is a little out of control, here's a pill". I'll educate you on ways you can get to your goal, so that you can maximize the effectiveness of your medication through exercise and diet. By giving you the tools to manage your own health, I am more effective as a doctor in the long run. A little knowledge is not as dangerous as the old saying would have it -- I give out a little knowledge whenever I can. Beyond that, I think that being thorough benefits patients often in unexpected ways. How often is a diagnosis missed because someone didn't bother examining someone's hand or neck? Yes, I know I can't find everything, but I'll find more if I'm more thorough.

Q. What kind of procedures do you do in the office?

I can do many minor surgical procedures, like skin biopsies, removing skin tags, repairing lacerations, lancing comedones or boils. I can deal with a fair number of fractures, splinting or repairing fingertip fractures. I can fix minor ingrown fingernails and toenails. I can do some joint injections, including shoulders and knees. I can inject spider veins. I can remove routine foreign bodies from eyes, ears, and sometimes noses.