Family physicians are specialists trained to evaluate your family's total health care needs- all ages, from birth to seniors. Our group of highly qualified family practice doctors provide excellent preventive and acute care, and also serve as your advocate when specialty care is needed or required. For a complete list of our family practice physicians, please visit the Family Practice section of our site.
A pediatrician deals specifically with the healthcare needs of children, from birth through age 18. Our facilities employ a group of caring pediatric specialists, each specially trained to monitor your child's growth and development, and treat illnesses common to children. In our region, pediatric physicians are in great demand; for help selecting one for your child, please visit the Pediatrician section of our website.
Our internal medicine doctors provide healthcare to adults, ranging in age from older adolescents (from 16 on) to the elderly. Internal medicine services offered at our facilities include providing annual preventive health examinations, treating acute illnesses, and management of complex, chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension. In Colorado, internal medicine is a vibrant field, and we are fortunate to have some of the area's top physicians. For a complete list, please visit the Internal Medicine section of our website.
Preventing the Flu
- 1. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too. Try not to touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus.
- 2. Stay home from work, school and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
- 3. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Put your used tissue in the wastebasket. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands.
- 4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose or mouth.
- 5. Clean your hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. It is recommended to wash with soap and warm water for 15 to 20 seconds. That's about the same time it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice. When soap and water are not available, alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers may be used. Clean your hands each time you sneeze or cough.
- 6. Practice other good health habits. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious food.
- 7. Best Protection against the Flu: Vaccination. The single best way to protect yourself and others against influenza is to get a flu vaccination each year.
What are symptoms of the Flu
Influenza (commonly called the "flu") is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. The information below describes common flu symptoms.
Influenza usually starts suddenly and may include the following symptoms:
- • Fever (usually high)
- • Headache
- • Tiredness (can be extreme)
- • Cough
- • Sore throat
- • Runny or stuffy nose
- • Body aches
- • Diarrhea and vomiting (more common among children than adults)
Having these symptoms does not always mean that you have the flu. Many different illnesses, including the common cold, can have similar symptoms.
If you get sick
Most healthy people recover from the flu without complications. If you get the flu:
- • Stay home from work or school.
- • Get lots of rest, drink plenty of liquids, and avoid using alcohol and tobacco.
There are over-the-counter (OTC) medications to relieve the symptoms of the flu (but never give aspirin to children or teenagers who have flu-like symptoms, particularly fever). Remember that serious illness from the flu is more likely in certain groups of people including people 65 and older, pregnant women, people with certain chronic medical conditions and young children. Consult your doctor early in the course of the illness if you think you need medical attention, but also be aware of emergency warning signs that require urgent medical attention.
EMERGENCY WARNING SIGNS
Seek emergency medical care if you or someone you know is having any of following warning signs discussed below.
In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
- • Fast breathing or trouble breathing
- • Bluish skin color
- • Not drinking enough fluids
- • Not waking up or not interacting
- • Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
- • Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
- • Fever with a rash
In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
- • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- • Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
- • Sudden dizziness
- • Confusion
- • Severe or persistent vomiting
No. Internists are physicians who have graduated from medical school and completed a three-year hospital residency in the specialty of internal medicine. Interns, on the other hand, are recent medical school graduates who are in their first year of hospital training. For more information on our internal medicine providers, please visit the Internal Medicine section of our website.
All of Mountain View Medical Group's physicians are Board Certified through the American Board of Family Practice, the American Osteopathic Board of Family Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine, or the American Board of Pediatrics.
Each insurance plan is different, and you need to contact your insurance company to determine your benefits. Medicare and Medicaid do not cover most preventive health exams. Regardless of your insurance benefits, every member of our medical center believes that regular physical examinations and laboratory screening tests are essential in providing you with the best care possible, and in detecting health problems early.
If you have an acute illness or urgent problem, such as a respiratory infection or migraine headache, please call the physician's office nearest you for an appointment. Often times you can be seen the same day.
Yes, be sure to tell your physician all the vitamins, minerals, over-the-counter medications and herbal remedies you are taking, in addition to any you have taken in recent months, as they can often cause significant reactions when combined with prescription medications. The best plan is to bring your medication bottles or an updated medication list the first time your visit our medical center.
Provided the prescription is refillable, the quickest and most efficient way to obtain a refill is to have the medication package in hand and call a pharmacy participating in your insurance plan. (If you use a non-participating pharmacy, your cost may be higher.) The pharmacist will check the refill's availability and call or fax the physician for any extra information needed. If you are required to see the doctor before refills can be issued, you will be notified by the physician's office. TIP: Always plan ahead. Don't wait until you have only one day's dose of a prescription to call for a refill. (The number of available refills is listed on the label of your prescription.) Also be aware that certain prescriptions are not refillable by phone, and that our "on call" physicians will not approve many prescriptions in the evenings or on weekends.
Some insurance plans provide payment for only their "formulary" medications; this is a way of controlling costs. The formulary list is reviewed and changed by the insurance company every few months. Sometimes there are two or more groups of drugs listed, designating how much of the cost for each you are expected to pay.
When a drug company develops a new medication, it is given a brand name and copyright protection. When the copyright has expired, other companies are allowed to manufacture and sell the same drug. However, their versions are usually known by a different name. (Often, this is the drug's chemical name). Since generics are chemically the same as their brand name counterparts - and they are often less expensive - insurance companies encourage patients to use generics whenever
The goal of everyone in our medical offices is to provide you with the best possible service in all areas, including the filing of insurance claims. In order to do this, we always want to send "clean" claims to your primary insurance company, with up-to-date demographic information. Each time a charge is entered, we have you review the information on-file, so your claim can be processed and paid as quickly and accurately as possible.
Changing codes after-the-fact so your insurance will pay for your visit is considered insurance fraud, and it is illegal. The documentation your doctor enters in your medical record during your visit must support the diagnosis codes and procedure codes given. We encourage our patients to become familiar with their insurance plan, and know what benefits their insurance companies will and will not pay for, in advance of receiving medical care.
Always bring your insurance card and required co-pay amount. A copy of your insurance card helps us accurately file your claim to your insurance company. Also, please bring a list of current medications, vitamins and/or herbal supplements which you are taking, along with a current immunization record if you are seeking an immunization update for yourself or someone in your family.
A DEXA scan is a Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry test. It is similar to other X-ray tests, only it measures the density of your bones. Patients who are past menopause and have risk factors for osteoporosis should have a DEXA scan.