UT Health Hill Country
If you are experiencing an emergency, please call 9-1-1 or go to your local emergency room., How to schedule an appointment with one of our physicians: Call us at , 210-450-6800, to be directed to any of our primary care or specialty services. Request a Primary Care appointment using MyChart or our appointment request form . Please have the following information available when you call to make an appointment: Name Address Telephone Number Photo ID Name of your referring physician and primary care physician Insurance information To help us make your visit go as…
UT Health was awarded a rating as a Patient-Centered Medical Home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)., The concept of a “patient-centered medical home” (or PCMH) has been around for more than 40 years. It is only in the last decade that studies have confirmed the benefits of patients having a “home base” for their health care. Many doctors knew it as common sense and a smart thing to do, but it is now backed up by many scientific studies ; when you go to the same doctors and they get to know you…, Access:, This means making sure to meet the patients’ needs during normal business hours, but also after business hours when they might call in with a prescription problem or need guidance on how to care for a new medical problem or complication., Team-based Care:, Some medical problems may require the expertise of multiple experts to get optimal treatment and function. Some problems may need behavioral health interventions, others may need expert guidance from a clinical pharmacist to help with the adherence to recommended medications, or others may need coaching for increasing physical activity and healthy diet guidance from a dietician or nurse care…, Care Coordination and Care Transitions:, This is especially beneficial for older people who have many health issues. Coordinating care means keeping track of all of your health issues and helping to coordinate tests or referrals to new doctors – or referrals to other places such as a hospital, an emergency room or a retirement home or hospice care., Evidence-based guidelines:, Although this may sound complicated, it is not. It simply means making sure that scientific evidence (based on studies and clinical trials) is what the doctors use to make decisions for their patients. This is especially important for preventive care such as immunizations for adults and children, and for cancer screening tests. The same standards of evidence also applies for how we care for…, Population Health Management:, This is another complex sounding phrase that simply means looking at all our patients and using information about them to see how they are doing as a group. Your health information is always kept private – that’s the law. But we can take pieces of it (we leave your name off it to keep it private) to look at health markers in groups of patients. This means looking at things like all our patients’…, Performance Measurement and Quality Improvement:, This is related to the “population health management”. It’s about using our information and looking at ways that we can do things better and that means making our patients healthier. We always want to get better at what we do and make you healthier – and that’s what “continuous improvement” is all about. It is also about having a commitment to constantly make changes – big or small – in our…
Beginning, or refining, a voice care program is the first step in taking better care of your voice and is essential for vocal cords that have been hurt or stressed. Whether you rely on your voice for regular activities or for your livelihood, you can begin taking better care of your voice today using these tips., Hydrate, Hydration refers to keeping the vocal cords moist both externally and internally. External dehydration may come from breathing dry air, breathing with an open mouth, smoking and certain drying medications. Vocal cords can be rehydrated by inhaling steam (i.e. hot shower, facial steamer, hot-water vaporizer). Internal dehydration comes from too much caffeine, alcohol, drying drugs or sweating…, Manage your mucous, Bothersome mucous can cause people to frequently clear their throats or have the sensation something is on their vocal cords. Your doctor may advise you to take a medication, called a mucolytic, that helps to keep respiratory secretions thin and flowing. The most common mucolytic is Mucinex or guaifenesin. Putting this into practice: Stay hydrated. Ask your doctor if a mucolytic medication would…, Stop throat clearing, Throat clearing is extremely traumatic to your vocal cords and can cause excess wear and tear. Bothersome mucous can cause the sensation that something is on the vocal cords that needs to clear off. The irritation and swelling produced by the throat clearing can cause saliva to sit in your throat. This causes more throat clearing. More throat clearing causes more stagnant mucus which causes more…, Irritating your voice, “Everything in moderation.” This sage advice is especially true when it comes to your voice. Compare your vocal cords to your legs. You would not expect to run a long distance and then later do a hour-long leg work out in the gym. Similarly, you should not talk all day at work and then head out for an evening of yelling or talking over noise. Putting this into practice: Avoid lengthy…