Greetings to our patients and readers of Chapala Med’s Health Newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to read this month’s Chapala Med newsletter. The purpose of my monthly newsletter is twofold. First and foremost, I’d like to provide health-related information that I believe would benefit the members of the of the community that I serve and the patients who’ve established care with my practice. This being the age of the internet and social media, I try to use them wisely to gather such information as well as from online medical journals I subscribe to. The second purpose of my newsletter is to inform my patients of the changes that happen at Chapala Med as our team and our practice continues to grow and evolve to meet the needs of our patients and the community.
I am pleased to once again announce that our Chapala Med team continues to grow to provide you better service and to allow the other healthcare providers and myself to focus on patient care. I am extremely proud to say that we have had a great deal of compliments with the two new members at our front desk, Daniela Franco and Jose Paz, a retired Army Medic. They truly have surpassed our expectations at providing exceptional customer service to Chapala Med’s patients.
The first week of September, Chapala Med will be hosting an open house. We will be opening our patients and our community to show our gratitude to the community for your continued support since establishing ourselves here as well as providing the community with an opportunity to get to know the staff and most of our healthcare providers in more informal setting. Hope you can join us.
Please spread the word, the ROTARY CLUB OF AJIJIC will be holding it’s second annual CATRINA 5K in support of the fight against breast cancer on Sunday October 28, 2018 at 8 a.m. at the Ajijic Plaza. Please support this worthy cause by participating or spreading the word.
In closing I’d like to remind our readers of our (Chapala Med & Ribera Medical Center’s) MISSION STATEMENT so that you are all aware of what we are striving to accomplish everyday and hold us to this mission. Thank you for continued support.
Santiago R. Hernandez M.D.
ADULT VACCINATION ARTICLES
As a preventive healthcare measure, vaccines work by teaching the body’s immune system to recognize and defend against harmful viruses or bacteria before getting an infection, and reduce the chance of getting certain infectious diseases. Most vaccine-preventable diseases are spread from person to person, which means that if one person in a community gets an infectious disease, they can spread it to others.
Chapala Med’s Doctors work with MOST national insurance companies.
Aug. 15,2018
It has come to my attention and the attention of other doctors in my network recently that the insurance agent in the video below states that CHAPALA MED does not work with or are not in the network of national insurance companies. I’d like to clear up any misinformation and state how we work with insurance companies.
Our specialists ARE IN THE NETWORKS of ALL NATIONAL insurance companies, especially the policies that are sold locally
PRIMARY CARE OFFICE VISITS (that means Dr. Hernandez’s visits) are NOT covered by ANY NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL insurance policy, like they are in the U.S.
In the rare case that one of our specialists may NOT be in a network, they will tend to adhere to most pay scales that are reasonable like those of METLIFE, GNP, AXXA and BUPPA.
The only specialist who in our network who set’s his fees (which are accepted by MOST insurance companies) is Dr. Jose Ernesto Ledesma, our NEUROSURGEON.
We DO fill out required medical reports for the hospital records and those required by the insurance companies, often leaving the original copies at the hospital.
Most major national insurance companies have offices in the private hospitals. This is to facilitate acquisition of documentation and payment of claims. The personnel at those offices can obtain copies of any documentation you may need, especially for reimbursement of your claim.
It is INSURANCE COMPANIES’ responsibility to acquire copies of any hospital records and reports needed to file claims. It is NOT the patient’s nor CHAPALA MED’s responsibility to contact other physicians and hospitals to do the work that the insurance companies have personnel trained and in positions to do so.
In the event of an emergency, it is your doctor’s responsibility to evaluate your medical situation, decide if you need an ambulance(triage) and have informed and capable doctors waiting to provide care to the patient when he/she arrives to the hospital, and NOT OF THE INSURANCE AGENT.
I understand that some services offered by the agent in the video below may seem like great customer service but they are also services that are riddled with conflicts of interest. Remember that insurance companies make a profit by not paying approx. 30% of their claims. Do you want to have people whom are working for the insurance companies having access to personal and medical information that can be used against you. Please be mindful of who pays the insurance agent(s).
It is not true that if you chose to work with our doctors that it will cost you more money for your treatments vs. the doctors whom an insurance agent chooses for you. What is their criteria for selection of these doctors?
I firmly believe that one should choose a physician on his/her level of expertise, ethical standards and bedside manner rather than on whether or not that doctor has signed a contract to see an insurance company’s clients for a set fee.
CHAPALA MED will have BILINGUAL MEDICAL CONCIERGE service at HOSPITAL COUNTRY 2000 to help in the CHECK IN PROCESS and will tend to our ENGLISH-SPEAKING patients. We have a formal affiliation with this hospital. This hospital is in network of ALL national insurance companies, so you will have all the help you need during the CHECK-IN and CHECK-OUT process of your hospitalization. This was one of the stipulations we asked for in order to formalize our affiliation with this hospital.
It is not my intent, nor that of any person who works at CHAPALA MED to discredit what insurance agents in the area do. We simply want to clarify misinformation verbally given to some of our patients whom are also clients of this agent. We are grateful to our patients whom brought these issues to our attention.
Below is an email of just how efficiently things can work if you CALL YOUR DOCTOR and not your insurance agent first, in the event of an emergency.
REMEMBER we work with MOST FOREIGN/TRAVELER’S insurance policies (subject to prior verification of coverage)
Clopidogrel Plus Aspirin Cuts Ischemic Events in Stroke, TIA
The combination of clopidogrel and aspirin is associated with reduced risk of major ischemic events but increased risk of major hemorrhage among patients with minor ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA).
Our team continues to grow and evolve. Please come meet the new members of our staff and our healthcare providers. We will have some lectures on Women’s Health, End of Life issues and palliative care, dental health, geriatric care and preventative medicine care. We hope you can join us and please mark your calendar. Cheers!
Chapala Med Dental Care grows
Our Dental Care department welcomes Dr. Alba Zamora DDS. Dr. Zamora has provided care to patients at the TEPEHUA community clinic in the past. She is the director of the DENTALL® Clinic
in Guadalajara. She is completely bilingual and has a great bedside manner as well as a great personality. I have no doubt that she will be a great addition to the Chapala Med team in the near future.
Below is the link to a video that was taken last year.
The Healthcare providers & Staff at Chapala Med pledge
“We pledge to preserve our humility, integrity, and all the values which brought us to the practice of medicine. We will engage in ho . nest self-reflection, striving for excellence but acknowledging our limitations, and caring for ourselves as we care for others. We will seek to heal the whole person, rather than merely treat disease, committing to a partnership with our patients that empowers them and demonstrates empathy and respect. We will cure sometimes, treat often, and comfort always”
