The Patient Experience at Morrow Family Medicine

The Patient Experience at Morrow Family Medicine (Episode 53, To Your Health with Dr. Jim Morrow)

Excellence in patient care is the primary concern at Morrow Family Medicine. On today’s show, host Dr. Jim Morrow shares how communication is the foundation of their practice. He also shares the family recipe for ” The Best Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream EVER!” “To Your Health” is brought to you by Morrow Family Medicine, which brings the care back to healthcare.

Morrow Family Medicine, a Member of Village Medical, is an award-winning, state-of-the-art family practice with offices in Cumming and Milton, Georgia. The practice combines healthcare information technology with old-fashioned care to provide the type of care that many are in search of today. Two physicians, three physician assistants, and two nurse practitioners are supported by a knowledgeable and friendly staff to make your visit to Morrow Family Medicine, A Member of Village Medical one that will remind you of the way healthcare should be.  At Morrow Family Medicine, a Member of Village Medical, we like to say we are “bringing the care back to healthcare!”  The practice has been named the “Best of Forsyth” in Family Medicine in all five years of the award, is a three-time consecutive winner of the “Best of North Atlanta” by readers of Appen Media, and the 2019 winner of “Best of Life” in North Fulton County.

Village Medical offers a comprehensive suite of primary care services including preventative care, treatment for illness and injury, and management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and kidney disease. Atlanta-area patients can learn more about the practice here.

Dr. Jim Morrow, Morrow Family Medicine, and Host of “To Your Health with Dr. Jim Morrow”

Dr. Jim Morrow is the founder and CEO of Morrow Family Medicine. He has been a trailblazer and evangelist in the area of healthcare information technology, was named Physician IT Leader of the Year by HIMSS, a HIMSS Davies Award Winner, the Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce Steve Bloom Award Winner as Entrepreneur of the Year and he received a Phoenix Award as Community Leader of the Year from the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.  He is married to Peggie Morrow and together they founded the Forsyth BYOT Benefit, a charity in Forsyth County to support students in need of technology and devices. They have two Goldendoodles, a gaggle of grandchildren and enjoy life on and around Lake Lanier.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorrowFamMed/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/7788088/admin/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/toyourhealthMD

The complete show archive of “To Your Health with Dr. Jim Morrow” addresses a wide range of health and wellness topics, and can be found at www.toyourhealthradio.com.

Dr. Morrow’s Show Notes

The Patient Experience at MFM, a part of VM

• We enjoy our work –
  • it’s a fun environment.
  • People get along and look out for each other.
  • Very collegial and family atmosphere.

• Expectations –
  • We try to keep in mind what patients expect when coming to the doctor.
  • We know that many times you are not at your best,
    • you are sick or anxious or upset or something other than how you’d prefer to be,
      • or where you’d prefer to be.
      • So, it falls to the front desk and medical assistants to begin the process of making you feel better,
      • at least no worse for having come to the doctor.

• Communication –
  • I built this practice by telling people that “we will respond to you in what YOU feel is a timely manner”,
    • and if we do not please tell us so that we can fix it.
    • I have been in practices where this was not a priority
    • and I was determined when I started MFM that this would be different and I believe that it still is.
    • We are not perfect.
      • But we try to be.

• Listen to the patient –
  • listening doesn’t mean telling the pt what they want to hear.
    • Many times, in the exam room,
      • I will just roll away from the desk and lean back and listen.
      • You have to listen.
        • Let the patient take the time they need to tell you their story.
        • You need to know the story to make them better so listening then is critical.

• Quality Measures – mammogram, colonoscopies, a1c –

This is how I met Village MD.

• They have helped us with this for over three years.
• Insurance companies have imposed upon practices the need to have patients get mammograms, colonoscopies, A1C tests (for diabetics).
• Doing these will help us to prevent illness.
  • That’s a whole different aspect of medicine from what has been practiced since Hippocrates.

• Utilizing advanced practice providers –
  • I have been blessed to work with many great PAs, NPs, etc. in my time in family medicine.
    • Currently, at MFM, we have the best group of these that I have ever seen under one roof.
      • They see patients independently, utilizing myself or Dr. Kindregan when needed,
        • we all talk as a group,
        • chat as a group,
        • consult as a group,
        • but they have patients who will ONLY see them.
      • Jaime Kutter, Mariann Simpson, and Emily Downs, our physician assistants, are incredibly bright, well-trained and women who have honed their skills over a total of probably 55 years or so.
      • And Jessica Kuhn, our nurse practitioner, brings an angle of care that is typical of nursing and clinical care, again seeing her own patients who request to see her.

• Population Health –
  • refers to the health status and health outcomes within a group of people rather than considering the health of one person at a time.
    • For public health practitioners, improving population health involves understanding and optimizing the health of a population broadly defined by geography.
      • Components are:

• • • • • Emphasis on primary care
        • Careful data-driven environment
        • Physician leadership
        • Off–the-radar disease management
        • Innovation
        • Portal
        • Village at Home
        • Digital marketing
        • Reviews

As we get closer to the warmer times, I want to share with everyone The Morrow’s favorite recipe:

The Best Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream EVER!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 – 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 – 12 oz cans evaporated

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

Whole milk

Salt

Ice

In an electric mixer, cream eggs and sugar. Add evaporated milk, condensed milk, and vanilla.  Beat well. Pour into an electric ice cream churn. Add whole milk to the fill line. Insert dasher. Assemble churn. Fill 1/3 with ice. Add a layer of rock salt. Repeat layering with ice and salt until full. When churn starts to labor, turn off. Fill with more ice and cover with a towel for 45-60 minutes. Remove ice cream to freezer containers and freeze for 4-5 hours. And enjoy!