From Dr. Trites
I have had many people ask about COVID-19 in the past year. If you are like me, you are COVIxHausted. Yes, that is a new word I created with the amount of energy expended on this virus.
To help answer the most common question, I cannot and will not tell you whether you should take a vaccine or not. I do not know, and no one else knows either, if any vaccine can work specifically for you or if you will have mild, severe, or no reactions. Ultimately, vaccination decisions are up to you.
I do not know if the COVID or any other vaccine will be mandatory in the future. Oftentimes, people are quick to judge because I work in alternative/conservative care, so they assume I am against vaccines. That is quite the contrary. I believe several posed a great role in society. For my generation, we didn’t see polio or smallpox as did the previous generations. But, I am also not convinced anything, including Vitamin C, is 100% safe. It is each person’s unique biochemistry that makes the difference. How efficient and effective is your immune system? What is your lifestyle, your environment, your stressors? What do you eat? What are your genetics?
There is a vast difference in the terms vaccination and immunity. One gives a false sense of security and the other proof of a working immune system. I would prefer to see a process where we challenge the immune system, either by vaccination, exposure, or monoclonal antibodies, and then run tests for immunity. Then we will better know the efficiency and factors perhaps that may render these immune challenges non-effective.
A link to a brief article from Frontiers in Immunology discussing what we do know is at the end of this newsletter. Viruses affect the immune system regardless of the type. When they enter the body, the idea is that your body creates antibodies, and an increase of antibodies can create an immune response. From what we know, the vast majority of Americans have antibodies to their own tissues. And immune challenges can increase those reactions and the findings indicate the SARS-COV-2 virus appears to attach to many tissues. Bottom line, I expect a great increase in autoimmune conditions this year for those who have an autoimmune diagnosis and those who have yet to be diagnosed. I expect flares this year regardless if you choose to vaccinate, exposure, or are afflicted with this respiratory virus. Subsequently, we have prepared our office to order tests and follow the latest research regarding the best outcomes we can provide for our patients because, as the research is stating, we are in it for the long haul. This is further evidence of why I order lab panels and testing in our office and how we manage our cases to the best of our current knowledge.
Office Update
We are updating our Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system that will allow us to offer a patient portal! Some of the features on the patient portal will include:
1. Sharing documents—both the office and the patient will be able to upload and download documents such as lab results.
2. Notes—the office will be able to post your information to the most asked questions regarding supplements – what’s the dosage and what time of day?
3. Schedule—patients will be able to see future appointment dates and times.
We hope to have the system ready for access by the end of the first quarter. You will receive detailed instructions on how to create your patient portal profile as soon as it is available.
For our Oklahoma patients—starting in February, you will be part of the new EMR system so we will no longer provide handwritten receipts. Your receipt will be emailed to you just as they are for the Dallas office. The receipt will include appointment and supplement pricing. Please make sure we have a valid email address on file for you.
Online Supplement Store Coming in Spring 2021
Yes, you will be able to order your supplements online! This has been a big project that has come with some bumps in the road, but we are now making great progress.
Most of the supplements we carry in our office are not sold online. A few of them can be purchased on FullScript, but most of them cannot. We have worked with all these nutrition companies on a process to ensure that their products will not be sold to the public. Therefore, our supplement store will not be accessible on our website. We do have some items in our online store that anyone who visits our website can see and order, but you will need to have a patient log-in to order supplements.
Once the hidden site is ready, our patients will receive a unique link to the site where a profile must be created. Once a profile is created, you may order supplements just like any online store. That’s it. It will be that simple. Look for an email about the patient side of our store this Spring!
Fee Changes
We’re sure you recall that Dr. Trites has offices in both Texas and Oklahoma. Since Dr. Trites took over both practices from the former practitioners, there have been two different fee schedules. Over the last couple of years, we have tried to slowly close the gap in the fee discrepancy so they are consistent for all patients regardless of location.
Therefore, we will change the fee schedule to $100 for each 15-minute increment effective March 1, 2021, for all patients for both online and in-person appointments.
To read the brief article from Frontiers in Immunology click here.