admin
23 November 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves. Beyond Primary Care is the only Direct Care clinic serving patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County giving families and employers peace of mind with healthcare costs by providing affordable, accessible, and authentic primary care services.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
This featured recipe is a Roasted Red Pepper Pasta. These recipes are my attempt, in a way, to bridge that Doctor’s adage of “Eat Better & Exercise More.” In this post, I will showcase a healthy meal made on a budget, my pictures are pretty decent, and that is how I got into this food endeavor.
Adapted from: LaurensLatest
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 (12 oz) jars roasted red peppers, drained
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tablespoon fresh basil
½ tablespoon dried basil
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated, divided
1 (12 oz box) pasta, cooked
Salt and Pepper to taste
1) Preheat skillet over medium heat, melt butter.
2) Saute onion until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in garlic, cook until fragrant. Remove from heat.
3) Pour onions and garlic into blender, add in red peppers, vegetable stock, salt, pepper, and dried basil. Pulse until smooth.
4) Pour back into skillet and stir in cream.
5) Once pasta is cooked, pour into the sauce along with ½ parmesan cheese and toss.
6) Dish and serve topped with remaining cheese and basil.
admin
19 November 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves. Beyond Primary Care is the only Direct Care clinic serving patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County giving families and employers peace of mind with healthcare costs by providing affordable, accessible, and authentic primary care services.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
In this blog post, I wanted to talk about Sedera Health, which is a cost-sharing model that can help with that ‘Back End’ healthcare coverage.
To be 100% upfront, myself nor my clinic- Beyond Primary Care, have any special relationship or financial interest in Sedera to disclose. I am simply educating the public and my patients on affordable coverages for those ‘what if’ scenarios.
In 2018, the average monthly cost for health insurance for an individual was $440.00 and for a family of 4 the average cost rose to $1,168.00, per month. That’s $14,016.00 per year. But wait, there’s more. The average deductible for that same family was $8,232.00 with many plans being over $10,000.00. What does all this mean?
Well, if you need any major medical coverage for your family, be prepared to pay about $22,000 in out-of-pocket costs before your insurance kicks in. We can’t afford to get sick anymore. For a large number of Americans and businesses, this is the new reality. Monthly health insurance costs increase every year while at the same time out-of-pocket deductibles have sky-rocketed.
You may of heard the terms ‘back end’ and ‘front end’ healthcare coverage before, but what does that mean?
Front end is basically any, and the vast majority of healthcare services that you would routinely use. Such as a regular doctor visit, needing medications, blood laboratory work, routine imaging, scheduled procedures.
The back end of healthcare are any surgeries, hospitalizations, or emergent care situations that may arise. Surgeries, hospitalizations, and emergency room care can be inherently expensive. People can go bankrupt from these events. That is why we recommend some ‘back end’ coverage.
Why are we paying for them in the same manner?
So, what is medical cost sharing? There are better options out there for you. Sedera Health is one of those options.
Sedera Health uses a medical cost-sharing model to challenge the status quo of health insurance that many of us have become so frustrated with. Instead of making payments to an insurance company that do not have your best interests at heart, medical cost-share members make payments to a community fund and those funds are only drawn upon when they are needed. Typically, members can save between 30-50% of what they were paying in insurance premiums and can chose a set amount that they are willing to pay as an initial unsharable amount. This can amount to $1,000s of dollars a year. So, you get lower costs and predictable expenses for those times when you do have major medical events.
Sedera Health offers employer groups of 5 or more a group discount on their cost-sharing for a Direct Primary Care membership. At Beyond Primary Care we believe that great healthcare should be affordable, accessible, and authentic for our members and that is why we have decided to discuss Sedera Health as an option. With your Beyond Primary Care membership you can add Sedera Health medical cost sharing to help cover the back end of your individual health risk with those larger major medical expenses. Then, let your Beyond Primary Care take care of all your primary and preventative care issues and rely on Sedera Health for the other wraparound medical needs for a total healthcare solution.
Beyond Primary Care + Sedera are working together to help you on your journey to great health. It’s premium quality healthcare with peace of mind for those ‘what ifs,’ without the high cost of insurance premiums and out-of-reach, out-of-pocket expenses.
admin
16 November 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves. Beyond Primary Care is the only Direct Care clinic serving patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County giving families and employers peace of mind with healthcare costs by providing affordable, accessible, and authentic primary care services.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
This featured recipe is a Cranberry Orange Bread. These recipes are my attempt, in a way, to bridge that Doctor’s adage of “Eat Better & Exercise More.” In this post, I will showcase a healthy meal made on a budget, my pictures are pretty decent, and that is how I got into this food endeavor.
Adapted from: Tasteandtellblog
Prep: 15 min
Total time: 1 hr
2 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Grated zest of one large orange
⅔ cup orange juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
⅓ cup vegetable oil
2 cups frozen cranberries
½ cup chopped pecans
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×5 loaf tin well.
2) Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Sift into a bowl. Add the zest.
3) Make a crater in the middle and add vegetable oil, eggs, and orange juice. Stir gently until combined. Fold in nuts.
4) Pour batter into the tin pan. Place into oven and bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
admin
28 September 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves. Beyond Primary Care is the only Direct Care clinic serving patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County giving families and employers peace of mind with healthcare costs by providing affordable, accessible, and authentic primary care services.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
This featured recipe is a Panzanella Salad. These recipes are my attempt, in a way, to bridge that Doctor’s adage of “Eat Better & Exercise More.” In this post, I will showcase a healthy meal made on a budget, my pictures are pretty decent, and that is how I got into this food endeavor.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman
1 loaf tomato bread from panera or any flavored bread you like
6 whole assorted tomatoes, cut into wedges
½ cup corn
1 Avocado, cubed
4 strips bacon, cooked and broken into small pieces
¼ cup olive oil and more for drizzling on bread
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
15 basil leaves, destemmed, roughly chopped
½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 bunch romaine lettuce, shredded
1) Turn oven to 400 F.
2) Spray a cookie sheet with a non-stick spray, place over a cooking tray. Lay bacon strips on top, bake bacon for approx 20-25 minutes.
3) While bacon is cooking, prepare bread by cutting into 1 inch cubes, arrange on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
3) Once bacon is cooked, remove from oven and let cool.
4) Turn oven down to 275 F and place the pan into oven for 20-25 minutes to slightly crisp the bread without toasting it. Remove from oven and let cool.
5) In a large bowl, combine avocado, tomatoes, and corn.
6) In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over salad ingredients, tossing gently. Add basil and parmesan cheese, toss again.
7) Add cooled bread and bacon to bowl, toss.
8) Place romaine lettuce on a plate. Add salad ingredients. Serve
admin
25 September 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves.
Beyond Primary Care is the only Direct Care clinic serving patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County giving families and employers peace of mind with healthcare costs by providing affordable, accessible, and authentic primary care services.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
In this blog post, I wanted to talk about family medicine and what exactly can your family doctor (such as myself) do for you.
Family doctors are trained to practice a spectrum of comprehensive primary care medicine ranging in ages from newborns, toddlers, teenagers, and through adults including end-of-life care. I like to say we take care of people at all ages and stages, guiding males and females through the complexity of human health and helping coordinate care of their health.
Why such a broad age range? That allows your family doctor to better know you and your family over what is hopefully an extended period of time- years to decades. Not just days to weeks. Family doctors don’t just see you when you are ill and at your worst. This continuity allows us to give you that longitudinal care which can help aid diagnosis, understanding, and treatment of any medical condition far more than someone just seeking that ‘one-off’ or ‘one-time’ visit.
Imagine you love your car. You depend on it. In return for continued performance you have to put periodic maintenance into it such as oil changes, new tires, new brakes, etc. You could go to a different auto shop every time.
But, like any other process, you want trust. Trust that the mechanic is going to recognize you (and your car) every time you go in and can be counted on to tell you when there may be a forthcoming issue. You also want that person to be approachable and genuine in their assessments and responses.
In much the same way, you want trust, sincereness, and consistency with a family doctor. These are attributes of a family medicine physician, not urgent care or other ‘one-time visit’ clinics.
Family doctors specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of acute and chronic conditions.
It is our goal to try to keep you out of the emergency rooms, and instead in the familiarity of your home and family.
Don’t let all those illnesses distract you though! Family doctors are not just there for the ‘what if’ scenarios, giving you only that ’reactive’ healthcare that is part of America’s cost control problem. Family doctors are ‘PROactive ‘ physicians.
This is why we encourage ALL of our patients to have at minimum yearly physicals were we can have a conversation about what we can do together to keep you healthier, longer. Infants and children often times have to be brought in multiple times a year for wellness checks to make sure they are growing properly and meeting milestones to keep up with their peers. There are few other physician specialties that actively work to keep you continuously healthy than family doctors.
Family doctors are not referral specialists. Referral rates to specialists in the United States are estimated to be at least twice as high as in Great Britain. Family doctors can help you control your healthcare costs through the elimination of unnecessary referrals to medical specialists.
As you can see, a good family doctor can cover 95% of all medical conditions. Family physicians knowledge is expansive. Because of this eclectic knowledge base, there is less likely a chance of the proverbial ‘hammer and nail’ approach than you may find with more specialized, narrowly focused physicians.
You will also live longer with a primary care physician! If you take a population of 10,000 and add a family doctor, there is a statistically significant drop in the death rates.
With family doctors your care will be individualized and engaged with a guided decision making approach.
admin
16 August 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves. Beyond Primary Care serves patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
This featured recipe is a Deconstructed Egg Salad Sandwich. These recipes are my attempt, in a way, to bridge that Doctor’s adage of “Eat Better & Exercise More.” In this post, I will showcase a healthy meal made on a budget, my pictures are pretty decent, and that is how I got into this food endeavor.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Adapted from: Spoon Fork Bacon
– 1 baguette with ends removed, sliced lengthwise
– 3 tablespoons olive oil
– 6 large eggs, hard boiled, shelled and sliced
– handful of greens
– 1 avocado, pitted, and mashed or sliced
– handful sweet gherkins, sliced lengthwise
– red onion, sliced
– Salt and pepper to taste
1) Bring oven to 400 F. Place baguettes on tray. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until lightly toasted.
2) Once toasted, top baguettes with avocado spread, greens, onions, sliced egg, and sweet gherkins. Season with salt and pepper, serve.
admin
12 August 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves. Beyond Primary Care serves patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County.S
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
We talked about what anxiety is in an earlier post. In this post I am discussing something that is important to me in treating any mental health condition- especially anxiety and depression- and that is storytelling.
Not only is it a way of relaying information about my patients when discussing care (eg- talking to a therapist to find the best medication), but it is an an essential way I continue to learn at work. It has struck me recently that even more than these obvious examples, storytelling has a direct impact on not only how we understand anxiety and depression (or any disease) but the process of healing itself, from the perception and expectations of the patient to the diagnosis and treatment by the physician. One thing I find myself doing on a daily basis as a physician is listening to patient’s stories. I sit down with them, make myself present, and just listen.
Think about any instruction list TELLING you how to do something:
Step 1: take an anti depressive medication, followed by
Step 2: get 8 hours of sleep a night, followed by
Step 3: walk 30 minutes each day, and so on.
People may complete the task, but long term learning for long term success from this method is limited. When someone is stuck in the dark hole that is anxiety or depression, it’s hard enough just getting OUT of bed in the morning, let alone doing any number of tasks. Treating anxiety or any mental health condition is not comparable to assembling a piece of furniture from Ikea.
Now, compare this to learning something from a story, where someone has pushed their own human experience and emotion into those tasks. Hearing the struggles, failures, and successes through story are more likely to shape your ability to learn and cope. Understand there are some conditions that we treat through empathy and ability to get to know people at people at a deeper level. The conversation can lend the support you need as you navigate the ‘hard’ in your own life.
Sharing your story will help you feel better. Why are you not sharing your story? Perhaps you feel embarrassment, fear, resignation? If you do not share your story then those thoughts and feelings are just randomly going through your mind, and you may only be inclined to be reactive towards them when they do pass through… that is randomly.
We use stories to describe to others our needs, and mental health is no exception. It doesn’t make much difference what we leave in and what we take out, what is important is that we tell the story. There is magic in that. It’s in the listener and storyteller- us. And for each and every ear, it will be different. And it will affect us in ways that we can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell or hear a tale that takes up residence in your soul, becomes your blood and your purpose. That story will move you and drive you. And who knows what you might do because of it.
The truth is today we are not treating everyone we need to who suffers from anxiety or depression, and can not do so if we continue to insist on one-on-one therapy with only an ‘expert.’ If listening to and sharing stories helps people, how can we withhold it? It will be there, doing its thing, whether you want it there or not. To ignore it seems to me to be the least ethical thing one could possibly do.
Mainstream medicine has a challenge: continue to ignore your story and lose you to a subjective fantasy built on the mistakes of our brain, or join you in your life story ensuring you are taking responsibility for your wellbeing while making you central to the care and cure.
admin
24 July 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves. Beyond Primary Care serves patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
This featured recipe is a Spinach and Artichoke Dip. These recipes are my attempt, in a way, to bridge that Doctor’s adage of “Eat Better & Exercise More.” In this post, I will showcase a healthy meal made on a budget, my pictures are pretty decent, and that is how I got into this food endeavor.
Adapted from: Food Network, Houstons
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
2 (10 oz) bag spinach, destemmed
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 TB all purpose flour
1 ¼ cups milk
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 ¼ cups parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup sour cream, plus more for serving
½ cup white sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup artichoke hearts, squeezed dry and roughly chopped
Salt
Tortilla chips for serving
1) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stiri in the spinach and cook until bright green, about 30 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold water; squeeze out the excess moisture, then finely chop.
2) Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ½ tsp salt and cook until the onion is soft, about 2 minutes.
3) Add the flour and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.
4) Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, parmesan and sour cream.
5) Return the pot to medium heat. Add the spinach, cheddar and artichokes and stir until the cheese melts and dip is heated through.
6) Serve with tortilla chips, salsa, and sour cream.
admin
11 June 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves. Beyond Primary Care serves patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
In this post I am discussing a common condition that I see at my clinic: erectile dysfunction. Let me repeat that last part- a common condition. If you suffer from erectile dysfunction, you are not alone. Those two words can make any man nervous. It affects all men but becomes increasingly prevalent as we age. At least 12 million U.S. men between 40 to 79 years of age have it, but can occur at any age. Older individuals are more likely to experience health conditions that require medication, which can cause or even worsen ED. It is a very emotional and sensitive topic to discuss.
The penis consists of two parallel cylinder-shaped tissues called the corpora cavernosa that run the length of the penis, a hollow tube called the urethra that is responsible for expelling urine and ejaculate, erectile tissue surrounding this tube, and various arteries and veins. The process of erection involves increased blood flow and pressure to the penis, and those cylinder-shaped tissues mentioned above become engorged and expand- thus an erection. Erectile dysfunction (ED) occurs when those tissues fail to become engorged or the penis fails to maintain rigidity and resumes a normal shape.
How ED is affecting one male may not be the reason for you. Your doctor will help to differentiate which components are affecting you and this is important in differentiating treatment options.
Male sexual arousal is a complex subject. Discussing in broad terms, ED can generally be separated into two categories: physical and mental health. Many instances of ED may involve causes from both categories.
admin
22 May 2019
Hi, thank you for coming back for the latest edition of Beyond Primary Cares blog; where I highlight healthy and fun recipes, healthcare news, advice for medical conditions, as well as how membership for care works! Dr. Jeff O’Boyle is the owner of Beyond Primary Care, which is a new approach to family medicine and addiction medicine that creates the time and space your healthcare deserves. Beyond Primary Care serves patients in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne County.
The primary purpose of the blog is to introduce healthy lifestyle concepts and answer common questions I receive from patients that I believe are important. I want to start discussions that will help educate, benefit, and improve your well-being.
This featured recipe is Greek Lemon Chicken Soup. These recipes are my attempt, in a way, to bridge that Doctor’s adage of “Eat Better & Exercise More.” In this post, I will showcase a healthy meal made on a budget, my pictures are pretty decent, and that is how I got into this food endeavor.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Adapted from: Food Network
3 tbsp olive oil
3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup farro
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
Zest of x2 lemons
Juice of x2 lemons
1 cup rotisserie chicken, shredded
3 large eggs
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp chopped dill
biscuits (or any bread on-hand or easily obtained)
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, ½ tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften.
3) Add the farro and cook, stirring, until toasted, 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and water; cover and bring to a boil.
4) One boiling, add the lemon zest, reduce to simmer, uncovered, until the farro is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken.
5) Whisk the eggs and lemon juice in a bowl; drizzle ½ cup of the hot broth into the eggs, whisking constantly. Gradually stir the hot egg mixture into the pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with ¼ tsp salt.
6) Combine the feta and dill in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Fill the biscuit halves with the feta mixture and lightly brush with olive oil.
7) Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until cheese melts, 2-3 minutes.
8) Top each serving of soup with dill, season with pepper. Serve with stuffed biscuits.
23 November 2019
16 November 2019
Notice of Privacy Policy as recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services
1 comments