An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Institute For Medical Wellness Healthy Living Report

At The Institute For Medical Wellness, we know how to "put out the fires" when it comes to your health. But as Smokey the Bear always said,

"Only you can prevent forest fires"

Hey Doc, "What have you been smoking? What does smokey the bear have to do with my health?"

Let me explain.

When I was in my residency, and cruising the hospital floors, I was often called to "put out the fires". In layman's terms, that meant treating diabetics with high sugars, the elderly with complications of pneumonia, and post-surgical patients with complications or increased pain. My training taught me well and laid the foundation for my further professional skills.

But it is now 19 years since I graduated from medical school, and 16 years since I completed my family practice residency, and I have seen the healthcare system become more and more bogged down, by focusing almost solely on putting out the fires. What I did not see was preventive healthcare. What I did not see was a Smokey the Bear in healthcare helping people to prevent illness.

How bout another quote. This one from Benjamin Franklin.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

In 2008, with the founding of The Institute for Medical Wellness, I decided to bend the curve towards more prevention of disease as I believe that prevention should be the hallmark and the future of family practice. The affordable Wellness Plans we offer are geared towards helping you work on lifestyle changes to prevent further and future illness. Wellness Plans are especially helpful in patient's with Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, High Cholesterol, or any other healthcare condition that requires more attention.

How about cancer prevention?

The Institute for Medical Wellness has teamed with Myriad Labs to offer genetic testing for patient's with a history of Breast, Ovarian, Endometrial or Colon Cancer.

In fact, Myriad Labs has offered to perform these tests on five (5) patient's at no cost.

Before you get too excited, there are limits and exclusions to this offer.

1) First, you must be an established patient of our practice,

2) Second, you also have to fit certain criteria listed below:

Patients with any of the following personal or family history features may be candidates for hereditary cancer testing:

Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome (HBOC)
•Breast Cancer before age 50
•Ovarian Cancer at any age
•Both breast and ovarian cancer
•2 or more breast cancers, one under age 50
•Male breast cancer
•Bilateral breast cancer
•Women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent with breast or ovarian cancer at any age
•A previously identified BRCA mutation
Lynch Syndrome/Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC)
•Endometrial cancer before age 50
•Colorectal cancer before age 50
•2 or more Lynch syndrome cancers, including ovarian, stomach, kidney/urinary tract, brain, or small bowel cancer, in an individual or family
•A previously identified mutation
If you feel you meet the criteria above, please call our office at 856-231-0590 to schedule an evaluation. If you are one of the first five to meet the criteria, we will set you up for testing.
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Interesting Article:

I came across this article the other day. The title was "California First State to Shorten Wait Times for Doctor Appointments". It made me laugh pretty hard. It appears that the State of California believes that by mandating insurance companies to shorten the waiting time for patient's to be able to see their doctor's, that it would magically happen.

Examples of the new standards include:
•48 hours for urgent care appointments that do not require prior authorization.
•96 hours for urgent care appointments requiring prior authorization (including specialists).
•10 business days for non-urgent primary care appointments.
•15 business days for non-urgent appointments with specialists.
•10 business days for non-urgent appointments with a mental healthcare provider.
Why do I find it so funny? I do not participate with any of the insurers or their regulations. Yet if you call my office in the morning of a workday, you will be offered a same-day appointment 99% of the time. That is what happens when a physicians office decides to cater to patient's, not insurers or government regulators!

Healthcare Reform Update:

Please click here to read a letter to the editor I wrote that was published in the Burlington County Times on January 22, 2010.

Quote of the day from Massachusetts newest Senator Scott Brown about Washington D.C.

"This is the best place in the world when it comes to solving problems"

While I may not totally agree that Washington D.C. is the best place when it comes to solving problems, I do believe that The Institute For Medical Wellness will continue to grow into being the best place in the Moorestown and the South Jersey area to help you solve your healthcare problems, but always with a strong focus on wellness and prevention.

To Good Health!


Steven Horvitz, D.O,
Board Certified Family Practice
Founder of The Institute For Medical Wellness
128 Borton Landing Road, Suite Two
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Phone 856-231-0590
Fax 856-294-0311
www.drhorvitz.com

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