November 2018

November 29, 2018NewsPrimary Care

• WHEREAS, nurse practitioners in Florida (NPs) are referred to as Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNPs) who have advanced clinical education and training, building upon their initial registered nurse preparation; and
• WHEREAS, there are more than 250,000 licensed nurse practitioners in the United States, with over 22,000 ARNPs licensed by the State of Florida, providing high-quality, cost-effective, patient-centered, personalized health care; and
• WHEREAS, NPs order, perform and interpret diagnostic tests; diagnose and treat acute and chronic conditions; and prescribe medications and other treatments; and
• WHEREAS, nurse practitioners treat patients through a caring, patient-centered, holistic model of care; and
• WHEREAS, Florida is proud to recognize and honor the service of nurse practitioners to our state;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Rick Scott, Governor of the State of Florida, do hereby extend greetings and best wishes to all observing November 12-18, 2017, as Nurse Practitioner Week in Florida.

Yours in Service,

Rachel Huerta, ARNP

Owner of Direct Primary Care of Boca Raton

2017 Healthcare Woman of Distinction Award Winner

Immediate Past-President of The Rotary Club of Boca Raton

Read More

November 26, 2018NewsPrimary Care

When you use antibiotics correctly, you do the best for your health, your family’s health, and the health of those around you.

Here are tips for how to use antibiotics correctly.

Ask if an Antibiotic is Necessary

Say YES to antibiotics when needed for certain infections caused by bacteria.

Say NO to antibiotics for viruses, such as colds and flu, or runny noses, even if the mucus is thick, yellow or green.

Antibiotics also won’t help for some common bacterial infections including

• most cases of bronchitis,
• many sinus infections, and
• some ear infections.

When they’re not needed, antibiotics won’t help you, and the side effects could still hurt you.

Never pressure your healthcare professional to prescribe an antibiotic.

Know What’s Got You Sick

Antibiotics cure bacterial infections, but not viral infections such as:

• Colds or flu
• Most coughs and bronchitis
• Most sore throats
• Runny noses, even if the mucus is thick, yellow or green

Taking antibiotics for viral infections:

• Will not cure the infection
• Will not keep other people from getting sick
• Will not make you feel better

* Studies show that in otherwise healthy children and adults, antibiotics for bronchitis won’t help you feel better.

Know When Antibiotics Are Needed and When They’re Not

If you need antibiotics, take them exactly as prescribed.

Talk with your doctor if you have any questions about your antibiotics, or if you develop any side effects, especially diarrhea, since that could be Clostridium difficile infection (also called C. difficile or C. diff), which needs to be treated immediately. C. diff can lead to severe colon damage and death.

When antibiotics aren’t needed, they won’t help you, and the side effects could still hurt you. Side effects range from minor to very severe health problems. When you need antibiotics for an infection, then the benefits of the drug outweigh the risk of side effects.

Know How to Feel Better

Respiratory viruses usually go away in a week or two without treatment.

Sometimes the best treatment for your illness may be over-the-counter drugs to relieve your symptoms.

Ask your healthcare professional for tips on how to relieve symptoms and feel better while your body fights off the virus.

Know How to Stay Healthy

To stay healthy and keep others healthy, you can:

• clean hands,
• cover coughs,
• stay home when sick, and
• get recommended vaccines, for the flu, for example.

Safely Get Rid of Your Medications

Safely throw away leftover medication.

• Never save antibiotics for the next time you become sick.
• Prevent children from finding and swallowing your medication
• Do not take antibiotics prescribed for someone else. This may
  • delay correct treatment for you,
  • make you even sicker, or
  • cause bad side effects.

Know What to Ask Your Child’s Doctor

If your child is sick, here are three important questions to ask your healthcare professional:

1. What is the best treatment for my child’s illness?
   Your child can feel better without an antibiotic. Respiratory viruses usually go away in a week or two without treatment. Ask your healthcare professional about the best way to feel better while your child’s body fights off the virus.
2. What do I need to know about the antibiotics you’re prescribing for my child today?
   If your doctor says your child needs an antibiotic, ask if it’s the one most targeted to treat the infection, while causing the least side effects. Some types of antibiotics, such as fluoroquinolones, have a stronger link to severe side effects such as life-threatening C. diff infections. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns healthcare professionals to only prescribe fluoroquinolones when another treatment option is unavailable. These powerful antibiotics are often prescribed even when they are not the recommended treatment.
3. What can I do to help my child feel better?
   Pain relievers, fever reducers, saline nasal spray or drops, warm compresses, liquids, and rest may be the best ways to help your child feel better. Your healthcare professional can tell you how to help relieve your child’s symptoms.

Source: CDC 5/2018 https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/community/about/can-do.html

Yours in Service,

Rachel Huerta, ARNP

Owner of Direct Primary Care of Boca Raton

2017 Healthcare Woman of Distinction Award Winner

Immediate Past-President of The Rotary Club of Boca Raton

Read More

November 19, 2018NewsPrimary Care

“The largest and longest feeding study to test the ‘carbohydrate-insulin model'” concludes that a lower carb intake burns more calories, which may help people maintain weight loss over a longer period of time.

Cara Ebbeling, Ph.D., together with Dr. David Ludwig — both at Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts — led the new study, which now appears in the BMJ.

As they explain, when we lose weight, the body adapts by lowering its energy expenditure. In other words, it burns fewer calories.

This way, the metabolism protects itself against long-term weight changes.

However, when the weight loss is intentional, this adaptive response can be frustrating for dieters, as it leads to weight regain.

Although weight gain after dieting is a well-known phenomenon, researchers do not know much about how different diets affect the way the metabolism responds to them.

The so-called carbohydrate-insulin model, however, suggests one such mechanism. It posits that highly processed foods high in sugar drive hormonal changes that increase the appetite and lead to weight gain.

“According to this model,” explains Dr. Ludwig, “the processed carbohydrates that flooded our diets during the low-fat era have raised insulin levels, driving fat cells to store excessive calories. With fewer calories available to the rest of the body, hunger increases and metabolism slows — a recipe for weight gain.”

In this context, Ebbeling, Dr. Ludwig, and their colleagues decided to investigate the effects that different diets had on the metabolism. Specifically, they looked at the carb-to-fat ratio in varying diets over a 20-week period.

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323711.php

Yours in Service,

Rachel Huerta, ARNP

Owner of Direct Primary Care of Boca Raton

2017 Healthcare Woman of Distinction Award Winner

Immediate Past-President of The Rotary Club of Boca Raton

Read More

November 15, 2018NewsPrimary Care

Family nurse practitioner Rachel Huerta has opened a concierge practice in Boca Raton with a monthly fee she thinks may be a first in Palm Beach County.

Offering an alternative to fast-track health care, Huerta won’t take insurance.

“When you step out of insurance you’re free, and the office has time,” she said. “Most visits are 30 to 60 minutes. We don’t double book so the patients don’t wait long.

“Think of it as a gym membership,” Huerta said at the Oct. 25 grand opening of her Direct Primary Care of Boca Raton office at 801 Meadows Road, suite 111. “Patients pay a monthly membership fee based on age.”

For infants to age 18, the fee is $35; ages 19 to 39 is $65 a month; ages 40 to 59 is $85 a month; and 60 and older is $100. There’s no long-term contract and patients can opt out with a 30-day notice.

Huerta offers a home visit option for $30 to $50 based on distance.

She does telemedicine over a secured site through Spruce Health app as an option when her patients are out of town. She can prescribe and dispense medication except for controlled substances, and offers wholesale generic medications.

Her practice offers physicals, pre-op exams, sick and wellness visits, management of chronic disease, weight-loss consults and referrals. She draws lab tests on site and works with a local lab to offer patients discounted costs, she said.

Her office is across the street from Boca Raton Regional Hospital and she said she’s on staff there.

“So I can see my patients at the hospital,” Huerta said.

Formerly the family nurse practitioner at Twin Lakes Medical Center in Boca, she has a master’s degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2011 and has been a nurse since 2004. Her husband Jody Huerta will run the business side.

The immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Boca Raton, Huerta is still a member.

Visit dpcboca.com or call 561-530-2622.

Yours in Service,

Rachel Huerta, ARNP

Owner of Direct Primary Care of Boca Raton

2017 Healthcare Woman of Distinction Award Winner

Immediate Past-President of The Rotary Club of Boca Raton

Read More