PHMG is excited to announce the addition of two experienced providers to the Urgent Care practice. Both provider have completed their internal PHMG training are are seeing patients at our Urgent Care clinics in the Southwest Idaho.

Physician Assistant Becky Wells is a graduate of Idaho State University and comes to PHMG from Madison Valley Medical Center in Montana where she provided ambulatory primary care, inpatient care and solo emergency room on-call coverage. She also has experience in a busy ambulatory care center in Washington.

Physician Assistant Nathan Church is a graduate of Southern Utah University and the Physician Assistant Program at Idaho State University. He also received his Master of Physician Assistant Studies with Specialization in Emergency Medicine from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He has experience in both Urgent Care clinics and Emergency Rooms, which will serve him well in our busy Urgent Care clinics.

These two professionals join our other quality providers in helping patients access health care when and where they need it. And their decision to join PHMG is a direct reflection on the dedication of our staff in our clinics working hard for the community every day to make sure PHMG is the best medical practice in the Treasure Valley.

Labels: new providers, physician assistant, urgent care

A survey called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals which states were the "happiest" in 2009. The index includes questions about six typs of well-being including overall evaluation of their lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors (such as whether a person smokes or exercises), and job satisfaction. Idaho ranked #11 on the list overall (the same spot it held in 2008). The top ten were (in order from #1 - #10): Hawaii, Utah, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Vermont, Colorado, Alaska, North Dakota, and Kansas.

Idaho faired very well in both the healthy behavior category and the work environment category. And Boise's rankings improved in emotional health, physical health, and healthy behaviors. One of the places that Idaho struggles with is basic access (based on items that measure people's access to food, shelter, healthcare and a safe and satisfying place to live) While the State results don't break down what respondents answered in this category, health care (costs and access to health care) is a large part of the equation.

Primary Health Medical Group is trying to improve access to health care in the Treasure Valley, Idaho. Learn more about our practice today - and see how you can help affect the lives of Idahoans.

Labels: health, Idaho, survey, well being

While most of the nation continues to dig out from massive snow storms and bundles up against frigid temperatures, the Treasure Valley has enjoyed some really beautiful winter days. Valentine's Day, February 14, brought about temperatures in the low 50s - perfect for doing those outdoor activities that are so abundant in the area. From hiking on family friendly beginner trails in the heart of downtown Boise, or snowshoeing trails just a short drive away, road or mountain biking routes from your front door or downhill skiing at Bogus - the area is an outdoor lover's paradise. So when you are considering a location to begin your medical career as an Urgent Care provider or a Family Practice Physician, remember to look at quality of life. And chances are, you'll have a hard time beating what the Treasure Valley Idaho has to offer.

Labels: outdoor, quality of life, sports, weather, winter

It goes without saying that patients and medical providers all want quality, accessible, and affordable care for themselves and their families. Experts have suggested we should look to Mayo and Cleveland Clinics as the model clinics for the future. Most patients, however, are not seen in large clinics. Doctors in small, private practices without the resources of a Mayo or Cleveland Clinic provide the vast majority of the health care in the United States. Successful implementation of any type of health care reform will depend on thousands of private practices throughout the United States. One such private practice is Primary Health Medical Group with 12 clinics located throughout southwestern Idaho.

Primary Health Medical Group has created a unique clinic system that offers accessible, reasonably priced, and quality care to insured, uninsured, Medicare, and Medicaid patients. Our model is based on a "combination clinic" that offers urgent care and appointment family practice services in each location. Unlike the traditional model, the urgent care and appointment providers work jointly to address patient episodic and chronic needs.

An example of the efficiency of Primary Health Medical Group's combination clinic model is how Medicaid patients are assigned to the whole group rather than just one doctor. We allow the patients to seek care at any clinic location without an appointment through the Urgent Care. The use of electronic health records allows patients to have their medical information available at any of our 12 clinics. If further follow-up is required, patients are scheduled with an appointment family practitioner within our organization. The clinics become the patient’s “medical home” rather than one doctor. The Idaho Director of Health and Welfare has praised our system for its ability to address the needs of Medicaid patients within the private sector and has further noted that PHMG’s patients have a lower rate of hospital emergency department visits.

Find out what other innovative things we are doing at PHMG today - before health care reform becomes a reality. And you'll see our approach to medicine is not only better for the patient, but better for the provider as well. Contact us today.

Labels: combination clinic, health care reform, medicaid, medicare

Although hard to predict exactly when and how severe the season will be, there is no denying that flu season is coming. And combine the traditional seasonal flu season with the H1N1 flu that is getting so much press, you've got a very busy time. Because Primary Health Medical Group offers both Urgent Care and Family Practice options for patients, the upcoming months will no doubt be busy ones for our staff. Whether it is preparing for the season by giving vaccinations to our patients (last year we administered over 10,000 seasonal flu shots) or treating those patients that fear they've come down with the flu, we have 12 integrated locations that can serve their needs. This year, as in year's past, we've designated an "expert" in our clinics to advise us on all things flu related. Mark Michaud, MD will be leading our seasonal flu activities this year. And because of our large volume of patient visits, we've designated another one of our physicians, Jennifer Vincent, MD, to assist with precautionary and environmental systems related to the virus. Not only have these two physicians shown interest and skill in these areas, but their experience with PHMG throughout the years make them a natural fit. We look forward to serving the community this flu season, as we've done in year's past, to try and keep them healthy with immunizations - or treating the illness and getting them back on their feet.

Labels: clinics, family practice, flu season, immunizations, urgent care

10-Minutes with Dr. Stone
We sat down with Janine Stone, MD, a new Family Medicine Physician at the Primary Health Medical Group West Boise Clinic recently and asked some questions we thought patients might like to know...


Question: What drew you to medicine?

Dr. Stone: I was drawn to medicine for the ability to work closely with patients and help them through the health issues they face throughout their lives.

Question: What does your favorite day look like (either professional or personal)?

Dr. Stone: A favorite day would be spending the day with my husband doing an outdoor activity like floating the river, bike riding or kite boarding.

Question: Are you from Boise, and if so why do you love it? If not, why did you choose the Boise area?


Dr. Stone: I'm not originally from Boise. The area drew me due to its sunny climate, with accessibility to the mountains and rivers.

Question: What’s the most challenging aspect of practicing medicine today?


Dr. Stone: One of the most challenging aspects of medicine today is finding appropriate health care at reasonable costs for patients.

Question: Do you have one thing that you really enjoy treating/addressing in terms of patient care?


Dr. Stone: One thing that I enjoy about medicine is the relationships developed with patients.

Question: What do you think will be the biggest change in medicine in the next 10 years?


Dr. Stone: I see the biggest challenge in health care being the cost control with accessibility for all patients.

Question: Why are Electronic Health Records important to patients?


Dr. Stone: Electronic Health records has an advantage for ease of prescription refills and clarity of charts (no more deciphering a Doctor or Nurse's handwriting).

Question: What is the one piece of health care advice you wish everyone would know?


Dr. Stone: Exercise and eating correctly are probably the best "insurance" you can give yourself.

You can make an appointment with Dr. Janine Stone at the Primary Health Medical Group West Boise clinic by calling (208) 378-8011. She is currently accepting new patients to her practice.

Labels: family practice, interview, Janine Stone

We're growing as a company - and that's good news! Even in challenging economic times, we're in a position to recruit new family practice physicians and pediatricians to our practice. In fact, we've added seven new appointment based providers in the past 18 months (but who is counting!). And so, sometimes it is a challenge to ensure that the same information, with the same passionate emphasis, is communicated to all of our 250+ team members at 13 locations across the valley. This morning, we stepped into the webinar ring - with our first ever company-wide webinar. Now for many companies, that may not seem like such a big deal. But for a privately held, independent medical group based in Boise, Idaho - it's very exciting. It's just one more way that we are embracing technology in our practice. As new technology comes about in the health care field, we not only investigate and implement - we embrace it. And we think that's just one reason that so many new providers are interested in our practice. Sure there is room for improvement for our next webinar (case in point: no print shirts for presenters), but at least we know there will be another webinar - or whatever new technology comes along.

Labels: new providers, technology, webinar