Primary Care
What is Primary Care?
Your primary care practitioner is the hub of your care – they coordinate everything related to your health, including specialists, referrals, medications, behavioral and mental health services, and much more.
What makes BNWS primary care unique?
Our providers pride themselves on truly listening to you and answering your questions so that you are empowered to live your healthiest life. Our care is centered around the patient – we want to help you meet health goals that are important to you.
Our care team includes internal medicine, geriatric physicians and adult and family nurse practitioners.
What to expect?
To become our patient, you will see one of our providers for a longer visit to establish care. Once you are an established patient you can schedule for follow-up visits, sick visits, and other services.
If you are having an urgent need or health issue after normal business hours, there is always a BNWS provider on-call ready to speak with you.
Your care may include:
In 1996, the National Academy of Medicine (then known as the Institute of Medicine) defined primary care as:
“The provision of integrated, accessible, health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of the family and the community.”
-
Annual Wellness Visits (Medicare patients only)
Patients with Medicare will have this wellness visit with one of our nurse practitioners once a year. The purpose of the visit is to ensure our health information about you is up to date.
Session includes:
A review of your medical and family history
Developing or updating a list of current providers and prescriptions
Height, weight, blood pressure, and other routine measurements
Detection of any cognitive impairment
Detection of any gait or walking impairment
Personalized health advice
A screening schedule (like a checklist) for appropriate preventive services. Get details about coverage for screenings, shots, and other preventive services.
Advanced care planning
Learn more here.
-
Annual physicals (non-Medicare)
Each year your doctor wants to make sure that you are up-to-date on your preventative health and that we are keeping track of what’s going on with you. At your annual physical, your doctor will review and measure your:
Personal and family health history
Vital signs (height, weight, blood pressure, and other routine measurements)
Laboratory tests
Your heart (EKG) and/or your lung strength (spirometry) if appropriate
Physical (body) exam
Gender-specific health screenings
An update on your screenings, shots, and other preventive services
Advanced care planning, if appropriate
-
Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is a program where your Bethesda NEWtrition & Wellness Solutions (BNWS), Primary Care Physician (PCP), provides you with a device to measure vital signs at home. The program is designed to help you engage in your care, provide education about your conditions, help monitor your health and stay connected with your care team. While enrolled in the BNWS remote patient monitoring program, you will be given a simple care plan and daily routine to follow using the Samsung tablet and monitoring devices provided to you by our team. You will also have access to the following features and services:
Daily vital signs monitoring by a provider
Medication reminders
Educational videos
Virtual visits
Symptom surveys (as needed)
Through the RPM program, we ensure you receive the individualized care you need, when you need it.
-
Care Coordination
Effective care coordination is integral to our practice. The care coordinator is your first point of contact if you have any questions for your doctor or other providers in our practice, or if you have any needs arise regarding your health. Our care coordination team ensures that we are available to our patients to answer any questions or concerns at any time.
You can reach our care coordinators during business hours at:
Please leave a message if you do not reach us and we will get back to you by the end of the day
-
Chronic Care Management
We want you to be in charge of your health. We provide our patients who have chronic conditions with a comprehensive Chronic Care Management benefits package. A chronic condition is a health condition that’s expected to last for at least 12 months. Examples are high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, asthma, COPD, atrial fibrillation (A. fib), joint disease, chronic pain.
You will meet with one of our experienced care coordinators to come up with a personalized care plan. After that, your care coordinator will keep in touch with you throughout your journey to reaching your health goals. Your care coordinator can direct you to appropriate BNWS services, coordinate and facilitate communications between health care specialists, and will work with you and your loved ones to make sure your health care needs are being met.
Chronic Care Management includes:
Finding health goals important to you
Creating a proactive care plan
Monitoring goal progress and following up with you
Supporting your self-management of conditions
-
Advanced Care Planning
Our experienced physicians and nurse practitioners can start a conversation with you and your family about what plans are in place in case you become unable to speak for yourself. We can assist you with filling out an advanced directive and a MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) form as part of your yearly wellness visit.
-
After Hours On-Call
If you are having an urgent need or health issue after normal business hours, there is always a BNWS provider on-call ready to speak with you.
After Hours On-Call number:
After Hours Are:
– Weekdays after 5pm and before 9am
– Weekends*Note: please do not call the after hours number for scheduling purposes. For all scheduling needs, leave a message on the main line: 240-449-3094.
