| What
isn’t clear is if these blood level differences
have any clinical significance for women. Serious
side effects are very rare with hormonal birth
control. Blood clots occur in approximately 5
per 100,000 women per year not using birth control
versus about 15-30 per 100,000 women per year
who are using hormonal birth control. Recent studies
on the patch have given conflicting results. One
has shown no increased risk in blood clots, heart
attacks or stroke. The other has shown no increased
risk for heart attack or stroke but has suggested
a two-fold increase for blood clots. It is important
to remember, however, that double a low risk is
still a low risk. It’s also important to
remember that pregnancy, which the patch is trying
to prevent, has a risk of 60 per 100,000 women
per year for blood clots.
At
this point no there have been no new specific
recommendations on the use of the patch by the
FDA. Again, the risk of serious side effects is
low. This risk, however, is increased if you smoke
cigarettes and may be increased if you are obese
or have a family history of blood clots or cardiovascular
disease. The increased risk, though, would be
true for any form of hormonal contraception not
just the patch. The bottom line is that women
should not panic and stop using the patch. If
you are using the patch and have concerns we urge
you to come in and discuss them with us.
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Comprehensive
Healthcare for Women, PA
Launches Sophrona Sage Portal™
St. Paul, MN. (September 25, 2006) – Two
months after implementation of Sophrona Solutions’
Sage Portal™ as its online patient communication
system, Comprehensive Healthcare for Women, PA
is realizing the increased clinical efficiency
and patient convenience it had sought says Kay
Olson, Office Manager. “Our doctors are
able to see new patients faster because this technology
has improved the flow of paperwork in our office.”
Within
two weeks of launch, the HIPAA secure patient
portal was handling 50% of Comprehensive Healthcare
for Women, PA’s new patient registrations
online. New patients now routinely register online
to provide their full medical history, demographic,
and insurance information at all hours of the
day – when it’s convenient for them.
They no longer come to the office early to fill
out paperwork for their first appointment. Instead,
when they arrive, they sign a form, sit down and
are promptly shown to an examination room.
“We
can now basically treat our new patients as existing
patients when they arrive. The flow is much more
smooth and efficient, “said Sam Arnold,
MD, the president of the group. “There is
nothing worse than having a new patient arrive
for a 9am appointment and then be roomed at 9:25am.
I’m just starting out my day and am already
25 minutes behind.”
Comprehensive
Healthcare for Women, PA wanted to give its patients
a way of conveniently scheduling appointments,
paying bills, and filling out new patient registration
without phone hassles and after hours. At the
same time, the online patient communication solution
needed to provide office staff with an easy to
use, intuitive, and secure way of viewing and
responding to patient communication. “We
wanted the ability to view and respond to patient
communication quickly and easily,” said
Olson. “Sophrona clearly delivered this
in its software. The office portal component of
this solution is obviously designed for usability.
Learning how to use it took less than 15 minutes.”
________________________________________________________
About Comprehensive Healthcare for Women,
PA
Comprehensive Healthcare
for Women, P.A. is committed to providing
a more personal approach to medical care specifically
for women. From its office in the southeast suburbs
of St. Paul, its four board-certified health professionals
offer comprehensive health care services for women
in obstetrical and gynecological medicine and
are supported by a full range of services including
clinical labs and ultra sounds. For more information,
visit www.chcw.net.
About Sophrona Solutions, Inc.
Sophrona
Solutions Inc. is an innovative healthcare
software technology firm which offers secure patient
portal communication systems and patient adoption
and marketing expertise to OB-GYN practices and
clinics. Sophrona’s Sage Portal improves
clinic efficiency and reduces phone call volume
while helping grow patient volume and increasing
patient retention. For more information, visit
www.sophrona.com.
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The
HPV Vaccine
One of the most dreaded phone calls a woman can
get from her physician’s office is the one
saying “we need you to come back in because
your pap smear was abnormal.” Well now there
is a new vaccine available that may significantly
decrease the number of these phone calls in the
future.
A
pap smear is a screening test for precancerous
changes on the cervix as well as cervical cancer.
Abnormal pap smears are caused by human papilloma
virus (HPV), a common asymptomatic sexually transmitted
infection. There are over 100 types of HPV and
as many as 50% of sexually active people will
be exposed to or will have an HPV infection during
their lifetime which is why abnormal pap smears
occur so frequently. Most abnormalities are caused
by HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18. The first two
cause 90% of genital warts and the latter two
70% of cervical cancers. The new HPV vaccine protects
against these four types. So while the vaccine
does not provide complete protection, it should
significantly decrease a woman’s risk.
Most
exposure to HPV occurs at younger ages so the
FDA has approved the vaccine for ages 9-26. It
is given as a series of three injections. The
second and third are given two and six months
after the first. Whether or not the vaccine is
covered by insurance generally depends on whether
or not your plan covers immunizations.
There
are some important things to remember about this
vaccine:
-
It helps prevent genital warts and cervical cancer
and pre-cancers
but it doesn’t treat them
- The vaccine doesn’t replace the need for
regular pap smears
- The vaccine doesn’t protect against HPV
types other than 6, 11, 16 and 18
- The vaccine doesn’t protect against HPV
types if there has already been exposure
- The vaccine works best before a woman has contact
with these HPV types
- Not everyone who gets the vaccine will be fully
protected
So
far there is data showing lasting immunity for
five years after vaccination. Ongoing data will
be collected to see if eventually a booster will
be needed. Even if an individual already has HPV
the vaccine can still be beneficial as it is unlikely
that someone would be infected with all four types.
Here
at Comprehensive Health Care For Women we do have
the vaccine for those who are interested. If you
would like to have your daughter vaccinated, but
her clinic is not stocking the vaccine, we are
happy to provide it for her as well.
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