Family Medicine Family Medicine is based upon caring for the child, adult and geriatric patient within his or her family and community.
I
provide primary health care for people over time and come to know them
well. Partnering with my patients - including them in decisions and
choices - means that we work together to achieve the best possible
quality of life. I strive to promote wellness but am ready to diagnose
and treat acute illness or help manage chronic illness.
Womens Health Annual
physical and gyn check up, which includes a review of your past medical
and surgical history, your family medical history, your current
gynecologic situation, including contraception and hormone use, current
lifestyle, health habits, and immunization status. The visit includes
your need for screening laboratory tests, mammography, bone density
exams as well as a detailed physical exam.
Menopause consultation
For
women preparing for or entering menopause, we provide a comprehensive
review of your menstrual status, symptoms of decreased hormones, sexual
function, and health risk factors including osteoporosis and heart
disease. This is followed by a discussion of what you need to know
about your health during this important transition in order to make
appropriate health related decisions. This consultation is primarily
focused on health counseling.
Gynecologic Problems
I
evaluate and treat a wide variety of gynecologic problems, such as
emergency contraception, bladder infections, vaginal discharge or
sores, and STD (sexually transmitted disease) testing.
Psychiatry Evaluation
and treatment of child and adult mental illnesses, including ADHD,
depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and other thought disorders.
Specializing in pharmacological management and ECT.
Appointment Types and Service Offered
I
am NOT accepting new patients into my practice at this time. If you are
an existing patient wanting to schedule an appointment on-line, go to: http://www.appointmentquest.com/provider/2060116338/signup.
Thank
you for selecting my office to provide your health care. My goal is to
meet your needs and to exceed your expectations. I aspire to practice
medicine the "old fashioned" way with individualized appointment
lengths and "house calls" when necessary.
On your first visit to
the office, it is helpful to arrive early in order to fill out some
information. Much of this information can be completed on- line at home
to save time.
When you call for an appointment the scheduling
staff will ask for the reason for your visit. This helps us schedule
the appropriate amount of time. All staff are very aware of the
confidential and sensitive nature of our patient's concerns.
I
value your time. If you wait longer than 30 minutes past your scheduled
appointment time, your urgent visit is free. As a courtesy to others,
if you cannot make your appointment time, please call as early as
possible so I may accomodate other patients. If you are more than 15
minutes late, we may have to reschedule so your delay does not
interfere with those who arrive on time for their appointment.
It
is useful to have copies of any evaluation, treatment, lab or x-ray
reports sent to me prior to your visit so that I may review them. Your
provider can mail them to my office at your request.
PLEASE REQUEST TRANSFER OF YOUR RECORDS AT LEAST 3 WEEKS IN ADVANCE.
Email Communications
What is secure messaging?
Secure
messaging works a lot like email and can be used to request
appointments and request prescription refills or to ask a general
question of Dr. Dickson. The difference from email is that secure
messaging is secure and encrypted. This means that the actual message
doesn't "live" in your email file to be discovered by your family or
employer. You access it directly from the website, and can do so from
any computer, even when you are away from home.
Your
communications with Dr. Dickson are too important and private to risk
on standard email. You will, however, receive notifications in your
regular email account when you have received a secure message from Dr.
Dickson or her office. The message will contain a link that allows you
to directly access your secure message from her or her office staff so
you will not have to check more than one email account to find all of
your messages.
Messages are checked at least daily when I am in town; messages MUST not be used for urgent or emergent matters. The
on-line messaging service is for established patients who have agreed
to guidelines regarding its use and limitations. You must register and
log in to use this service. After registering, the office will confirm
that you are an established patient and then activate your secure email
privileges. This process may take up to 2 business days. You will
receive an email confirmation when your registration is "active."
What's wrong with regular email for communicating with Dr. Dickson?
Standard
email does not live up to state and federal laws for patient privacy
nor does it conform to medical liability carrier guidelines. It is not
encrypted nor password protected and often uses employer-sponsored
email networks thereby making the messages the property of the
employer, and not confidential.
