For immediate release: Jan. 24, 2012
Contact Anne McMillin, APR
Public Relations Manager
Office 775-682-9254
Mobile 702-292-4247
amcmillin@medicine.nevada.edu

School of Medicine offers new health care option for Northern Nevada families

Patient-Centered Family Medicine clinic opens, is accepting new patients

RENO, Nev.— The University of Nevada School of Medicine’s Patient-Centered Family Medicine clinic is a new program for improving primary care for patients by focusing on organizing medical care around the patient, working in teams and coordinating and tracking care over time.

“Our primary goal is to give patients the best possible medical care by building a trusting partnership between you as an informed patient, our providers and the health care team. The center of the team is you, the patient,” said Daniel Spogen, M.D., chair of School of Medicine’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, who initiated the Patient-Centered Family Medicine model.

This team approach involves physicians and nurse practitioners overseeing and directing patients’ health care by following embedded medical guidelines for chronic disease management as well as preventative care. Other health care professionals including nurses, nurse practitioners, dieticians and physical therapists will work together with physicians to provide care that is coordinated and sensitive to patient needs.

This new system of health care delivery keeps the Patient-Centered Family Medicine clinic up-to-date on changing guidelines for patients’ health care. Clinic staff will take the initiative to call patients to make appointments for routine preventative care such as blood pressure checks, lab work, gynecological exams and well-baby care.

“Until now, the patient had to remember to make an appointment to come in for care. We are taking some of that pressure off to remember those things,” Spogen said.

He added that the Patient Centered Family Medicine delivery method empowers patients with additional tools like web-site referrals for patient education materials on topics of interest ranging from diabetes and hypertension to nutrition.

“The patient with the proper education can participate in their health care. Patients armed with that information tend to make better health care decisions,” Spogen said.

Other patient resources, including small group roundtable group visits centered on a particular condition and webcam chats between patients and providers, are also planned for the near future. Medical advice and care is offered to patients 24-hours a day, seven-days-a-week by calling (775)682-8200.

Located adjacent to Nevada Physical Therapy in the sports medicine complex on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, the Patient-Centered Family Medicine clinic is open and accepting new patients weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments may be made by calling the number above.

The University of Nevada School of Medicine, a research-intensive, community-based, statewide medical school, has served Nevada for more than 40 years as its only public medical school. Our mission is improving the health of Nevada’s diverse population through world-class biomedical research, an innovative curriculum integrating basic and clinical sciences, and highly competitive residency and fellowship programs that complement a statewide network of urban and rural clinical facilities. Through targeted growth and investment in research, clinical services and education, we are a resource for improving health care regionally and across the country.