Heritage Family Practice

12/21/2023

Happy Holidays Everyone! The respiratory season is here in full force this year. We are seeing a lot of illness. Its not to late to get your vaccines. Flu and covid vaccine should be readily available at your local pharmacies. We still have some of both in our office as well. If you get sick, rest and fluids are the way to go. If you have chronic conditions and are at high risk, don't hesitate to call and inquire about antiviral medication. I understand Tamiflu is getting hard to find but the CDC is releasing stocks to help with supply. I want to let everyone know we will be closed December 25 and 26. We will be back in the office as usual on Wednesday 12/27. Have a safe and happy holiday.

HFP

12/05/2022

Happy Monday everyone. I'd like to let everyone know, we are seeing very high demand for sick appointments right now. Its respiratory season and levels of flu and COVID are on the rise locally. We've heard from our local hospitals that ER's and urgent care facilities are also very busy. They see a lot of non-urgent illness in the ER and have asked us to do whatever we can to help make sure ER use is appropriate. While we are very busy and may not be able to see you for an appointment, we are here and can help advise you on the right course of action. We have more than doubled the number of "same day" acute care appointments we save in our schedules in order to try to accommodate as many sick patients as possible. Those appointments go fast and we're still not able to see everyone as soon as we'd like. Please be patient, everyone is important. If you need assistance and appointments aren't available, please leave a detailed message there may be something to try before going to a crowded urgent care facility.

Have a great night!

Jay

07/22/2022

Update on digital transition - Hey everyone, I want to let you all know we are slowing bringing on functionality with our new system. Its a very complicated and time consuming process. We are currently fully implemented with our scheduling, our patient portal is up, but there is much more functionality to come. We will be adding documents and results for you to access on an ongoing basis. Right now, since we are working in two systems, we cannot handle the workflow if we were to turn on all the functions of the portal. That being said, it is important for all of you to sign up for the portal as it will be the main source of communication and information. Also, we will soon transition all of our Virtual Visits to our portal platform. The portal virtual visit function is currently active and we are using it for those patients who are signed up. We will be exclusively using the portal for Virtual Visits soon, so please sign up so we can continue to offer you that service. We are also very close to being able to order labs and receive results all within our new system. That will make is easier for you to see results and comments on your lab work. We're also now able to send all prescriptions to the pharmacy electronically!

Please be aware, the patient portal invites expire in 5 days. I know, frustrating, not something I can change. That being said, its easy for us to resend the invite. We are also able to generate temporary usernames and passwords in the office so for those of you that find portal registration difficult, we will have devices available in our office to help you get signed up. You all can help us tremendously by signing up and getting used to the portal. You are able to enter things like family history, update demographics and insurance info at this time.

Please know, we are working hard to learn our new system and make information available to you. Please be patient with us.

Thanks

Jay

05/11/2022

Heritage Family Practice
Is going Digital!

I want to let everyone know in the next few months, we will be transitioning to our new EHR system, NextGen Health. Our new system will allow patients to access test results online, request medications, update demographic information, view medical records, leave messages, pay bills, and more. It enables appointment reminders via text message and or email. Once we are fully implemented, we will be E-prescribing all medications.
During our transition (starting June 1) it will take extra time for us to do our work. Everyone is learning the new system and we need your help. We will be asking you to setup portal access, verify your demographic information and enter your important medical/family history. It will take time for everyone to get used to new ways of doing things. There is not much that isn’t changing with this transition.
That being said, please be patient with us. Starting June 1, we will not be able to see as many patients as we are used to, access for a month or two will be more difficult. In order to be sure we can service your needs, we will have limited appointments for physicals and other wellness services for a short time. We will be working hard to learn and get back to normal capacity as quickly as possible.

As always, if you have specific needs coming up, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We will do what we can to help you. Thanks in advance for your patience.

Jay Overton
Office Administrator

05/02/2022

Hey Everyone! Spring time is here, allergies are driving everyone crazy and summer is around the corner. Unfortunately, we are seeing a spike in COVID cases. It can be hard to distinguish between COVID and other things going around. Testing is important to get the right diagnosis and treatment. Don't hesitate to call us, we can evaluate you, document symptoms and get you tested. Evaluations are done virtually, testing is done outside our building and there are many local pharmacies with access to the new antivirals. As with Flu, these antivirals work much better the earlier you get started. At this point, we would advise you to take precautions, be mindful of people in your life that are high risk and get in touch with us as soon as you suspect you may have it. We are here to help. Be Safe.

Jay

12/20/2021

Good Morning Everyone, happy Monday December 20. I want to give you all a little information about testing. We are seeing a big jump in demand for testing. We do need based, physician ordered testing from Labcorp. Its the gold standard PCR test. This test takes 24-48 hours to result. It must be ordered and justified by a licensed clinical provider such as an MD or NP. As such, we will need to do a televisit in order to ask appropriate questions and document the need for testing. The tests we order are paid for by insurance or by the federal government and require proper documentation. There are best practices and proper protocols that must be followed. If you have a known exposure, it takes time to develop symptoms and get to a point where testing is appropriate. If you test early, you may get a false positive, if that false positive provides you with a sense of security and you go out and gather with others, it could lead to further spread. This is one example of why we need to ask questions and give appropriate advice prior to testing. That being said, there are several ways to be tested available to you. Most pharmacies are carrying rapid test kits and they do not need a prescription. If you visit the Fairfax County Health Department website, you can obtain a comprehensive list of testing sites. This list provides the basic information about the type of testing done and whether or not you will need to see a physician to order it. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to do screening tests such as for travel or participation in a group activity. I am happy to discuss any testing or other needs you may have, please don't hesitate to give us a call. Have a great day!

Jay

06/03/2021

Happy Thursday everyone! I want to let you all know, we are getting calls from patients about different types of fraud. Last week I spoke to someone who lives in California about a call she received from a number coming up on caller ID as Heritage Family Practice. She had no idea we were on the east coast and obviously is not a patient at Heritage. It seemed to be an attempt to get her personal and credit card info.

Another type of fraud we are seeing involves medicare patients. We are receiving faxes that look just like a request for a doctors order for durable medical equipment. Simple things like knee and elbow braces. These requests look legitimate but are actually fraudulent. There is no information about the company sending these requests on the form. The return fax number has a 902 area code and the phone number is from 765. These requests have patient names, dates of birth and medicare ID #'s on them. Be on the lookout for scammers and don't hesitate to call us if you have any questions about a call or written request you receive.

02/10/2021

As many of you know, the federal government is working directly with CVS to increase the availability of COVID 19 vaccine in Virginia. This is a link to information on the CVS website

https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine

CVS will add more appointments as vaccine becomes available. It is my understanding that the CVS system is not linked to the Virginia Health Department registration system so check the CVS availability even if you are already registered in the VDH or FFX county system.

At this time, it does not seem like FFX county has any plans to distribute vaccine to individual offices outside of their partnerships with Inova or Kaiser. If I hear otherwise, I will update you here.

Let CVS help guide you through everything you need to know about the coronavirus vaccine. Get all your questions answered and learn how to schedule your vaccine online or through the CVS Pharmacy® app once available!

02/03/2021

Hey everyone, I'm sorry to report I don't have any updates on when or if VDH is going to involve individual offices in the COVID 19 vaccine distribution effort. In Fairfax County, the health department continues to give out vaccine and have involved Inova for certain groups. I understand the Federal Government is planning to partner with CVS in Virginia to expand vaccine distribution. I do not have any information on how those vaccines will be scheduled yet. The FFX County health department website remains the best option to get a vaccine. Register there and they will contact you with scheduling options. Good Luck!

01/25/2021

Update from VDH (Virginia Department of Health) VDH is reporting that the UK strain of COVID 19 has been positively identified in Virginia. This strain is known to be more contagious. VDH is also reporting that they have ramped up their capacity to distribute vaccine and that their current capacity exceeds supply. This is one reason why we are not seeing vaccine available at pharmacies and doctors offices around the region. They can give everything they get in a controlled and safe way so no need to risk complication of distribution until supply increases. Vaccines continue to be given through local health departments everyday. Be sure to register through your local county health department so you get in line for your shot. Good Luck!

01/20/2021

OK, correction from yesterday's post. It does not seem like Inova is giving vaccine to the general public unless you are a Fairfax County Teacher or school employee. That being said, the FFX county health department does have vaccine. They are giving second doses to group 1A and are working through their que. I know its frustrating both from the speed of this and the lack of clear information but be patient, register online and you will get your vaccine. Sorry for the confusion.

01/19/2021

Hey everyone, we have heard from a few sources that Inova is giving vaccine to the general public as part of their partnership with the county. I believe they are working on groups 1A and 1B as well as Fairfax County teachers and school staff. If you fall into one of these groups, you should be able to schedule at an Inova facility. Visit any Inova website and you will immediately see links to COVID 19 vaccine information. Their main page is Inova.org. They also have online scheduling.

The health department continues to work through their vaccine que as well. The main thing to remember is that you must get 2 doses of the same vaccine. We have both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in Virginia. The most important difference for you to understand is the interval between doses. 21 days for Pfizer and 28 days for Moderna.

Be safe and good luck!