Conditions We Treat

At MedNorthwest, the clinicians here practice a wide scope of primary care. In other settings, primary care physicians have so little time with patients that they are forced to refer almost all conditions over to specialists, including those better managed by a primary care generalist with a broad patient-oriented perspective. Sending these primary care disorders to a narrowly-focused specialist does not always produce good care. Listed below are a few examples of the disorders we treat that are best managed in the primary care setting.

High blood pressure (or hypertension, which means exactly the same thing) is extremely common. Hypertension is not really a disease in the typical sense. Instead, it is more like a universal condition that occurs with aging. By age 65, over 70% of Americans have high blood pressure. One important difference at MedNorthwest is the convenience of treatment. Patients are encouraged to check blood pressure at home, and then call or email as needed to make adjustments to medications. We try to make treating hypertension as easy as possible for our patients and reduce unnecessary trips to the office.

Patients with elevated cholesterol often wonder if they should go on, or stay on, a statin drug like Lipitor (atorvastatin) or Crestor (rosuvastatin). Prior to starting these drugs, we do a careful risk assessment, and depending on patient characteristics, this could include additional testing for risk stratification, such as carotid Dopplers or a coronary calcium score, and then we also mathematically model a patient’s risk using a variety of risk calculators that have been validated in research trials. We don’t take the decision to place someone of a drug like this lightly, but we also don’t want to withhold a medicine that could be highly beneficial for one of our patients. 

At MedNorthwest, obesity is treated as a metabolic disorder, not a matter of “willpower.” Our clinicians have extensive experience with the new weight loss medications such as Zepbound and Wegovy. Using a rigorous, scientific approach, we have had outstanding success with these drugs. With over 200 patients treated thus far, MedNorthwest has deep expertise in this area. Don’t buy weight loss drugs from some rando doc off the internet. Instead, have your metabolic disorder treated by experts who are also generalist clinicians and can manage obesity alongside the consequences of this disorder, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and others.

See a video on our approach to managing obesity with the new weight loss drugs here.

The normal wearing out of joints with age is what we call osteoarthritis. While our orthopedic surgery colleagues play an important role when the time comes for joint replacement surgery, there are a lot of steps along the way before surgery is necessary. If you need occasional injections or cortisone or other products into painful joints, including the hands, wrists, shoulders, hips, knees, and elsewhere, we can perform those for you here in our office. We can order X rays, monitor your progress, and guide you on when joint replacement surgery is appropriate. Additionally, our clinicians can provide advice on medications to manage arthritis and monitor you for complications and side effects from these drugs, which can be quite helpful.

Many patients have come to us complaining that their “annual exam” no longer includes even a brief physical. The annual exam is an opportunity to review your medications, determine if you need any preventative health maintenance items, like vaccines, blood work, or cancer screenings, address any specific health concerns, and yes, to perform a physical exam, just as doctors have been doing for the past 100 years.

We have a number of patients in the practice with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Unlike other offices where patients are dragged in for an unnecessary visit every few months, at MedNorthwest a once-yearly visit is sufficient to maintain treatment on any beneficial ADHD medications, such as stimulants. We can keep in touch over the phone or via email for refills, but of course you are always welcome to come in if you feel the need to do so.

We do PAP tests, prescribe birth control, manage menopause with hormonal therapy and other approaches, and otherwise care for a broad spectrum of women’s health issues. We use our gynecology colleagues to manage pregnancy and for surgical procedures.

Routine skin checks, skin biopsies, freezing skin lesions, treating pre-cancerous skin conditions, and other routine dermatological conditions like eczema and acne are treated here. We refer out to our dermatology colleagues for cosmetic procedures and management of complex skin disorders.