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I am doing all telephone visits unless patient requests to be seen or I feel there is something urgent that needs to be checked in person.I expect that your primary care physician can do telephone visits as well.However, you should call and ask if there is a special reason that an in person visit is required. I would not simply cancel without speaking to your doctor.#flattenthecurve

You’re in your 20s. Things in life have changed. College. Job. These are all new things that are consuming each day of your life.Yet, you also want to go out with your friends and have fun. Plus we can’t forget about the endless selfies that document these memorable moments.A life full of both responsibilities and excitement awaits you. Grades, career goals and potentially finding the love of your life come to be priorities.But with so many things going on, how in the world do you maintain your health after having so many different responsibilities?All it takes is scheduling one day from your busy schedule to see your doctor for a checkup.But what happens in this process? What are they looking for? We reached out to one of our most trusted resources on the topic.Keck Medicine of USC’s very own Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine, Dr. Rose Taroyan, MD, MPH goes into detail of exactly what she and her staff look for when you go to visit the doctor’s office:1. Alcohol MisuseWhen you are in your 20s, the first thing that your primary care physician is going to want to check for is alcohol misuse. Physicians like Dr. Rose Taroyan do this through a screening and behavioral counseling interventions.This starts off by identifying your CAGE score. To figure this out, your primary care physician will ask you 4 simple questions:1. Have you ever felt you should Cut down on your drinking?2. Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?3. Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking?4. Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover (Eye-opener)?A total score of two or greater is considered significant.2. STI ScreeningWhat follows shortly afterwards is a screening for any sexually transmitted infections. These can range from chlamydia to HIV and includes gonorrhea and syphilis. Some counseling is done to educate patients on what can be done to protect yourself from any possible infections.3. Tobacco UseDuring the checkup, your doctor will be asking about your use of tobacco, providing counseling (if necessary) and discussing pharmacotherapy invention (if needed). Pharmacotherapy invention is basically medication to help end tobacco use: for instance, nicotine gum, the patch or prescription pills.4. Blood Pressure CheckYour primary care physician will then check your blood pressure. If anything looks out of the ordinary, your doctor will be able to provide you with tips and instructions on how to keep it under control.This process includes a screening for dyslipidemia. Big word, I know! It means checking for an abnormal amount of cholesterol or fat in the blood.• If you’re between the age of 17-21, a screening like this will only happen once.• Screenings, along with risk factors are discussed for men who are at or above 25 years old.5. Cervical Cancer ScreeningThe next step your primary care physician goes through is a process called cytology. What cytology means is the study of cells. So in this process, your physician is checking your cells to see if there is any abnormalities that may potentially be causing cervical cancer.But how often are these done?• When you are within your 20s, a screening is done once every 3 years.• As you grow older, a cytology and HPV screening is done every 5 years.6. BMI EvaluationYour BMI is your Body Mass Index. In other words, it is a value that you get when you combine your weight and height. This number indicates how healthy you are.During this process, your primary care physician is going to do an obesity screening. If this value seems out of the ordinary, counseling will be provided.This is a good time to talk to your primary care physician about your:• Physical activity• Nutrition• Daily habitsThis discussion will determine whether there should be some counseling on:• Exercise tips and activities• Eating habits (consuming 5 or more servings of fruits or vegetables daily)• Preventing heart disease• If you are a woman and you are either planning or capable of pregnancy, folic acid supplementation will be discussed as well7. Hepatitis ScreeningHepatitis is something that is easily contractable. Did you know that some people live with it and never even know?Your doctor will provide a screening knowing that:• Being in your 20s, you can potentially be at high risk for Hep B• If your parents are reading this and they were born between 1945 and 1965, they are at high risk for Hep C8. Skin Cancer ScreeningThe sun shines bright nearly all year here in Los Angeles and skin cancer is something many of us fear. Your primary care physician will provide behavioral counseling to help you protect yourself from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.9. Domestic Violence ScreeningIf something is happening in your life and you have been looking for someone to share it with, discussions with your primary care physician are safe.10. ImmunizationsTalk to your doctor about immunizations. Your primary care physician will provide immunizations for HPV.You will need these if you are:• Women – until age 26.• Men – until age 21.• Men who have sex with men – until age 2611. Depression ScreeningWhile seeing your primary care physician, they will be checking for signs of depression. If you feel down or think you may be suffering from depression, be honest with your doctor.During this screening, they will go through a quick and simple test that consists of 10 questions:Little interest or pleasure in doing things?Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much?Feeling tired or having little energy?Poor appetite or overeating?Feeling bad about yourself, or that you are a failure, or have let yourself or your family down?Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television?Moving or speaking so slowly that other people have noticed. Or the opposite – being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual?Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself in some way?If you checked off any problems, how difficult have these problems made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people?Your answers are recorded in between 0 to 3, depending on whether you have these feelings:Not at all = 0 pointsSeveral days = 1 pointMore than half the days = 2 pointsNearly every day = 3 pointsBased off these scores, your doctor will be able to tell you if you suffer from no depression, minimal depression or major depression. This will help your physician be able to identify whether or not you may or may not need an antidepressant or even psychotherapy.12. Anxiety ScreeningAfter the depression screening is complete, another quick screening is to identify your level of anxiety.The quiz looks like this:Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems?Your score will be able to determine whether or not you have little or no anxiety, severe anxiety and everything in between. This will allow your doctor to determine exactly how they can best serve your needs.Request an Appointment!Understanding what your primary care physician is looking for will help you be prepared for your visit. Remember, both you and your physician have the same goal – to keep you healthy. If your current doctor is missing out on some of these crucial screenings, maybe it is time to consider a new primary care doctor.If you are in the Los Angeles area and are looking for exceptional care from some of the top physicians in the world, be sure to schedule an appointment by calling (800) USC-CARE (800-872-2273) or by visiting Keck Medicine of USC -Reference: Keck Medicine of USC - What Your Primary Care Doctor Is Looking For In Your 20s

In 2000 I was admitted to a burn ward for 3rd-degree steam burns on my right arm covering the entire outside half of my arm from wrist to shoulder. Unbeknownst to me, the intern who took my medical history somehow decided that just because I had said that I’d tried LSD and Pot before that he would list me as a habitual and current user of those two substances. I didn’t really know anything about this until a year later when I had to medically quit work and retired to Long Beach California. When I applied to get private medical insurance I kept getting denied over and over again. I finally requested the detailed reason why and they informed me that my medical records listed me as an “habitual user of LSD and Marijuana.” I was FLOORED! I couldn’t even REMEMBER where they could have gotten that from! I had to get all of my health records pulled and sent to me to figure out that it was from the burn ward at the hospital in Maryland.I had to jump through hoops to get it expunged from my records including statements from my then primary care physician and my current PCP. Even then it took so long I was in a high-risk pool for years until I got my social security disability and got on Medicare for my severe degenerative disc disease.