Specialty Family Medicine Facility Lincoln Medical Offices Department of Medicine Address 1900 Dresden Drive Lincoln CA 95648 Map & Directions Telephone Appt/Advice: (916) 543-5400 E-mail your doctor

Department Hours

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
8:30 am 12:30 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 12:30 pm
Closed during lunch, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm

My personal and professional mission is “Create Health”. I regard my clients (also known as patients) as I regard close friends, and therefore I am fully committed to providing the best health care I can. Half of being a good doctor is good communication, and the other half is timely, knowledgeable care and health care coordination.

Basic health care often involves treating a disease condition. To me, however, a higher level of health care involves preventing the diseases from arising in the first place. I emphasize regarding my clients as a whole person. Emotional and spiritual needs are as important as physical health. I am strongly supportive of preventive health care. As your personal physician, I address potential problems before they become actual problems, and I will encourage and request that you do the same. A list of preventive guidelines based on your age and gender is available in the clinic or through the mail to you upon your request from the nurse. For more information via the internet, please click on the link "Prevention Information" on this page.

My specialty is Family Practice. The Family Practitioner (FP) is a specialist trained to work in the front line of a healthcare system and to take the initial steps to provide care for any, and many, health problems that our clients, patients, may have. We recognize and integrate the concept that our clients are members of a family, community, and a society, regardless of the patient's type of disease or other personal and social characteristics, and organize the resources available in the healthcare system to the best advantage of the client. We deliver and coordinate care across a broad spectrum of prevention, diagnoses, cures, and care, and refer serious or unusual cases to our outstanding specialists at Kaiser Permanente. Working at Kaiser Permanente gives me the freedom to practice the way I want to, doing the best medicine I can provide, and that is a privilege. As your physician, you are at the center of the decision-making process and I will help you make good medical decisions.

The greatest asset that Kaiser Permanente has is quality care provided by a highly-skilled healthcare team including physicians, nurses, medical assistants, health educators, and behavioral medicine specialists. Our information technology allows us rapid access to lab, pharmacy, radiology, and consultation information. We have classes on many topics, which will allow you to learn to manage your health better. You might be interested in checking out helpful healthy living information at Learn and Live.

I offer appointments on the same day, and most within a few days. My usual work hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. To make an appointment, I encourage using the Internet button in the left column, but you can also call the appointment phone number. I will call you to discuss your pertinent test results as soon as the report becomes available, and if the results are normal, I will immediately release the results to your E-mail Kaiser account or mail you a copy of the report. I will be using the Internet to communicate with my patients by a secure confidential e-mail messaging system. You can check your lab results and send me an e-mail from links on this web page. Thank you for visiting me on the web page. I look forward to working with you closely on your health issues.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

You may easily book an appointment, request refills of your medications, securely view recent lab test results, and send secure email to your doctor at kp.org.

1. What if I have specific questions about my care and am unsure whether I need to book an appointment?

I encourage you to leave me a detailed message at (916) 784-4050 (option #4 after you choose your language) or e-mail. Fax communications are not acceptable means for communicating messages as these are not HIPPA compliant, which is the legal standard for medical privacy. Urgent concerns will still need to be handled by the call center. Lab results are available online on this site.

2. How do I get refills on my medications?

All refill requests should be called in to the pharmacy, even if they are zero refills (that is, no refills left). This will minimize error in processing your refills. Routine refills can be mailed to you without additional charge which can help you avoid long lines (This can be arranged through the pharmacy). Please feel free to leave me a message at (916) 784-4050 (option #4) or e-mail me using the Email Your Doctor link above if there are any questions about refilling antibiotics as these are not routinely refilled. You can refill medications to be picked up at the pharmacy as soon as you have used up 80% of your medication, and you can refill medications to be mailed as soon as you nave used up only 70% of your medication.

3. I have diabetes. Why do I often have zero refills on my medications?

When a medication is called into the pharmacy with zero refills, it prompts me to check your recent lab tests to see if they are up to date, or if your medications need adjustment. You may have zero refills more often just so I can keep a very close watch on you to make sure that we minimize your risk for complications from diabetes such as heart attack, kidney failure leading to dialysis, and loss of your feet. If you have diabetes and have not had lab testing in the past 6 months, please inform my office that you are in need of a lab slip for diabetes tests. Because lab slips are frequently sent to those that have diabetes, if you receive lab slips that are exactly the same and you just had lab tests done, you may want to leave a message at my office to make sure you still need to do the duplicate testing.

4. I have asthma. Why do I need to take inhaled steroids when I do alright just with my Albuterol?

Albuterol use more than 2 canisters a year usually means your asthma is not under good control and you should be taking an inhaled steroid such as QVAR to decrease this use to about 2 canisters a year if possible. Minimizing the need for your Albuterol may help you to live better longer as it is theorized by some that increased use of Albuterol can stress your heart and may decrease your life span.

5. Why is it emphasized that I be on time for my appointments?

I encourage each person to try to be on time for appointments to keep you and others from experiencing excessive delay. I believe we should try to treat others like we would like to be treated - with kindness and consideration. I will do my best as well to be on time. I take all the time that is needed to address your issues, which sometimes can lead to some delays for others during the day, which I hope you will understand if it is your appointment that is one that gets delayed. If you have the option to come in a bit early, we can sometimes get you in earlier as well, and it helps us stay on track during the day.

6. Why don't I get reminders for yearly checkups?

The US Preventive Task Force, an independent government agency that makes recommendations based on all research studies done for preventive health has recommended against yearly checkups as they have not been helpful in preventing disease. Annual exams have generally been replaced with preventive medicine practiced year-round done on any visit for more specific issues. Please browse the Healthy Lifestyles Programs for more information.

Information such as that provided by these programs, with routine blood tests, have been recommended by the US Preventive Task Force as this can help you to stay healthy. If you think you may need routine blood tests as recommended by these programs, you may leave me a message through the call center or by e-mail.

7. What if I need to be seen for an urgent problem on the weekend or after regular working hours?

Our clinic holds an after-hours appointment clinic (AHAC) during the weekend and after regular working hours. If you call early after 6am on Saturday or Sunday, you should be able to get an appointment with myself (if I'm the person working that day) or one of my colleagues for that same day. These after-hours appointments are for short focused problems as we are not given the same amount of time to see each member.

8. Is there medicine that will make me stop smoking?

There is no pill, patch or other technique that will make you stop smoking. The desire to quit is admirable and it is good to honor it.

Smoking literally kills more people each year (total about 420,000) than the combined deaths (yes, that is all added up) due to alcohol, secondhand smoke, AIDS, suicide, car accidents, homicide, fires, illicit drug use as noted from Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS).

Aside from the health problems and costs associated cigarette-caused lung disease and cancer, heart disease, strokes, kidney disease and second hand smoke insults to children and other people, cigarettes cost money. Doing the math can be eye opening: a pack per day on a yearly basis (assuming $4 per pack) is $1460. In 10 years, that’s about $15,000. In 20 years, $30,000. Think what you could do with thousands of dollars other than making yourself ill.

Kaiser has great resources to help you quit.

9. Is there a medicine that will make me lose weight?

There is no pill that will make you lose weight. Healthy bodies come in a variety of shapes and sizes. No matter what your shape or size, you can improve your health by getting regular physical activity, eating a balanced diet, and feeling good about yourself.

If you've set a goal to lose weight and keep it off, click here for resources to help you succeed.

On a Personal Note...

Aside from loving what I do professionally, I spend my time devoted to my family mostly, raising our children, going to soccer games and music recitals, skiing and backpacking when we get a chance.

Thank you for visiting me on the web page. I look forward to working with you closely on your health issues.

Be sure to visit the Kaiser Permanente Website for additional information regarding appointments, prescriptions, health education classes and other health-related topics. You can also click on my department link above to receive additional health information.

To choose your own personal physician, click here.

Checklist for New Members

About Your Office Visit

Prevention Information on Your Registration Slip

My Credentials

Medical school	University of Health Sciences Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas City, MO
Internship	Eastmoreland Hospital, Portland, OR
Residency	Eastmoreland Hospital, Portland, OR
Board certification	Family Medicine, Am Osteo Board of Family Physicians

Disclaimer
If you think you have a MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY or go to the nearest hospital. DO NOT attempt to access emergency care through this web site. An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following: serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to your bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. An emergency medical condition is also "active labor," which means a labor when there is inadequate time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery or if a transfer poses a threat to the health of the member or unborn child.

This site may contain links to other web sites outside of www.permanente.net. Kaiser Permanente has no control over the content or the availability of these sites, and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites. Web links are provided as an educational tool, and should not be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. A link or reference to a web site should not be construed as an endorsement of the site or its contents. Any medical content that you feel may be important to your health should always be discussed with your Kaiser Permanente physician.