Texas Family Medicine

22/05/2023

Medicare Advantage plans get creative to meet you where you need them most.

For folks living in assisted living facilities, these plans are starting to provide transportation, medication delivery, and social services.

Whether you live independently in a house or in a facility, a Medicare Advantage plan might save you money . . . and offer services you don't currently get with regular Medicare.

Check out Humana's offering for Texas Family Medicine patients here: https://shop.humana.com/medicare-plans/ad/default_call.

Explore Medicare plans and health insurance coverage to fit your lifestyle. Turning 65 or recently qualified? Sign up for Medicare coverage! Start with healthy, start with Humana.

16/05/2023

For our over-65 patients, we recommend daily walking or other form of activity for fall prevention.

Deep knee bends while holding on to the kitchen counter is a perfect way to increase leg strength and exercise your balance center.

Falls cause hospitalization, lead to surgery and long-recovery times, and sometimes cause death.

Don't add to one of those statistics!

FRIDAY, May 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Older Americans are dying of falls at more than double the rate of 20 years ago -- with women, men and all racial groups showing increases, according to a new study.In 2020, the study found, just over 36,500 Americans age 65 and up died of a fall-related inju...

08/05/2023

Good morning!

Reminder that COVID is still present in our community. Let us know if you develop cough, fever, headache, runny nose, or aches.

Meet our Texas Family Medicine providers:
Dr. Randy Brown
Dr. Amy Hussey
NP Bob Caivano
NP J'Lin Stewart
PA Frances Hodapp
Dr. Brian Byrd

03/05/2023

This study is the first to link asthma with cancer. Bad forms of cancer, some that are difficult to detect and treat.

Though more data collection is needed to verify, I can with confidence encourage all our asthmatic patients to treat all the way to being symptom free, if possible.

Adjusting for the covariates, patients with asthma were 1.36 times as likely to develop cancer compared to patients without asthma (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 1.36; 99% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.29–1.44)....

29/04/2023

Dr. Byrd writes a monthly blog that touches on recent health development and treatments that are relevant to you. Check it out:

Medicare Advantage Medicare Advantage plans, also known as Medicare Part C, offer several advantages over traditional Medicare. We highly recommend Medicare Advantage plans, such as Care n Care or Humana to our regular medicare patients. You can sign up here. One of the main advantages is that they....

29/04/2023

Keeping a cap on your healthcare spending is one of the pillars of retirement planning.

So, you might look at a Medicare Advantage option that will protect you much more than traditional Medicare.

If you are aging in to Medicare, consider choosing one of the Medicare Advantage plans accepted at Texas Family Medicine.

We recommend Humana Medicare Advantage. Call 'em at 800-720-9895.

Whether you stay with Original Medicare or choose a Medicare Advantage plan depends on how much you value flexibility versus cost and other factors.

25/04/2023

We don't want you to have a stroke!

One in four Americans will suffer a stroke during their lifetime, and
it is the most common cause of disability.

Since elevated blood pressure is the #1 cause of stroke, we provide our senior hypertension patients with a home blood pressure machine that is digitally connected to our system.

That way we can monitor your blood pressure day-to-day and make necessary adjustments to your treatment.

Doing so, we lower your chances of having a stroke.

In the meantime, if you have elevated blood pressure, decrease your salt intake (you'll have to look at home much sodium is in the food you eat) by about 20%. It'll make a big difference!

Slight uptick in males since 1999, but other demographic groups remain stable

24/04/2023

What negative habits do we carry on with and don't realize we are doing them?

And what negative effects do they have on our mental, social, psychological, and spiritual health?

This 4-minute read answers these two questions. I recommend!

Life's ups and downs can be exacerbated by habits like phone addiction, neglecting self-care, procrastination, poor boundaries, negative comparisons, and self-doubt; identifying and addressing your biggest obstacle can bring more joy and ease into your life.

18/04/2023

Is our area the worst place in the country for allergies? Perhaps.
We've all chatted with folks who "never had allergies" before moving to Fort Worth.
But it is not something that has to be out of control for any of our patients. Give us a call for quick allergy relief.

You can also see how other Texas cities rank in the 2023 allergy report.

17/04/2023

We advocate early use of hearing aides. A 2022 federal law loosened hearing aide manufacturing and dispensing which will lower costs significantly. We recommend Dr. John Fewins' team here in Fort Worth for hearing evaluation.

FRIDAY, April 14, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Can treating hearing loss lower your chances of developing dementia down the road?Maybe, claims new research that found that folks who are experiencing hearing loss and don’t use a hearing aid may have a higher risk of developing dementia than people who ...

10/04/2023

Some of our patients are experiencing long COVID symptoms. Here is a brief summary of Long COVID.

You can get advice and some treatment from one of our providers if you are a COVID long-hauler.

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Long COVID is a condition that affects some people who have recovered from COVID-19 but continue to experience symptoms for weeks or months after the initial infection.

Symptoms can be debilitating and vary widely between individuals, but some common ones include fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, joint pain, chest pain, and difficulty sleeping.

The cause of long COVID is not yet fully understood, but it is believed to be related to a persistent immune response or viral damage to organs and tissues.

Treatment options for long COVID are limited, and the best approach is currently to manage symptoms as they arise.

06/04/2023

Good news for Medicare Advantage patients. The referral process to our network of specialists just became easier.

We recommend Medicare Advantage plans - like Humana or Care n Care - over traditional Medicare. Call us if you have regular Medicare and want to switch.

CMS has finalized a Medicare Advantage rule that aims to increase marketing oversight, streamline prior authorization requirements, and improve access to affordable prescription drugs.