Monthly Matters:

• GreenField Bids Farewell to Dr. Todd Canon
• Visit Co-Payments
• Changes to our GreenField website
• GreenField Health & Health Care Reform
• GreenField Physician Profile: Paula Koeller, MD
• Adolescent Matters: Got the Blues?
• Office Notes

GreenField Health’s Health Matters

November 2009

GreenField Bids Farewell to Dr. Todd Canon

GreenField’s Dr. Todd Canon is planning on relocating to Austin, Texas in the near future. His last day at our GreenField Health NE Broadway clinic will be November 13th. Dr. Canon’s patients will transition over to the care of Dr. Dave Hays. Dr. Canon has contributed a great deal to GreenField and to the Portland community overall and he will be greatly missed. We wish him all the best in his new move back to this home state of Texas.

Visit Co-Payments

Starting January 1, 2010, GreenField will start to collect visit co-payments. As many of you are aware, because of the challenges involved in collecting co-payments, we have historically collected them only on a voluntary basis, using those funds to help support care for the disadvantaged. Due to changes in health insurance over the past few years, co-payments have become an increasingly significant percentage of the total visit payment. Lastly, our insurance contracts state that we are contractually obliged to collect co-payments.

For these reasons, starting January 1, 2010, we will begin billing for co-payments. Because we are now using electronic e-statements whereby we send invoices electronically, we will not be collecting visit co-payments at the time of your visit, but we will be billing for those payments using our electronic system. You will receive the invoice via a secure message from us which also allows for online payment. For those who don’t open the secure e-statement or those without email, a paper invoice will be generated and mailed.

The amount of your co-payment should be noted on your insurance card. We appreciate your understanding about this issue. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Changes to our GreenField website

Over the past several months we have been working hard on a number of changes to our GreenField website and would like to invite you to take a moment to familiarize yourself with the changes. Please visit www.GreenFieldHealth.com.

Most importantly, when you go to our home page, the bars along the left-hand side have changed. Please take a moment to click on “I am a patient,” “I want to become a patient,” and “I want to learn more.”

I am a patient

As a patient of GreenField Health, you will often want to click on “I am a patient” to do all of the many things that our website and patient portal allow. Once you go to this page and login, your menu options on the left-hand side change. They appear as- Send Us a Secure Message, View my Inbox, Request Appointment, Renew Medication, Request Referral, Update Personal Information, Pay my bill, Billing Question & My Medical Record.

We have reserved the actual page for important clinic updates. We encourage you to check this page often as the content will change regularly.

I want to become a Patient

Over the past few months, we have worked hard to streamline the process of registering online or by phone to become a patient at GreenField. Hopefully, those interested in joining GreenField will find the enrollment process simpler and easier.

I want to learn more

We have made a number of changes within these pages and invite you to take a look:

• Meet our Physicians- Each GreenField physician now has their own page complete with bio, professional qualifications and board certifications.
• Meet Our Health Coordinators- We have added bios on each of our health coordinators.
• Meet Our Team- We have added bios on our administrative, billing and management team members.
• In the News-We are quite proud of the opportunities that we have had to be in the news and are pleased to share each with you on this page.

Finally, we have archived Health Matters by year to make it easier for you to search for old articles of interest.

If you are a current patient and need help navigating our patient portal- set up, verification or navigation- please feel free to contact Kate.Griggs@GreenFieldHealth.com  or your health coordinator and they can easily assist you. If you have any questions or feedback about our site please feel free to contact our marketing manager Kim.Walgraeve@GreenFieldHealth.com.

GreenField Health & Health Care Reform

Dr. Chuck Kilo participated as a panel member at the City Club of Portland’s October 29th panel presentation which was part of a four part series on Health Care Reform. Other panelists included: Susan Matthies (economist and moderator), Don Thieman, MD (Assoc. Medical Director, CareOregon), Wiley Chan, MD (Director, Guidelines & Evidence Based Medicine, Kaiser Permanente), and Denise Honzel (Health Leadership Task Force).

In their discussion, the group discussed some very specific questions related to health care reform- What is “Payment Reform”? How will “Pay for Performance” work? What impact can Comparative Effectiveness Research have? Is the “Medical Home” the answer?

GreenField Health remains committed to participating in the national discussion surrounding health care reform. We will try to keep you apprised of all that our physicians and staff are participating in locally and nationally to address this important topic.

GreenField Physician Profile: Paula Koeller, MD

Over the next several months, we would like to profile each of our GreenField physicians in turn. This month we are profiling our adolescent physician- Dr. Paula Koeller. She is currently accepting new patients ages 10-29. Please take a moment to read her profile and learn more about why she loves working with adolescents and young adults.

Dr. Koeller believes that adolescents are “exciting, challenging, and rewarding.” She has been interested in working with adolescents since college, when she coached, worked at a half-way house and volunteered at the hospital- all with adolescents. Dr. Koeller believes that it is a fascinating time of life- how the mind matures, the body changes, and all of the medical challenges that result from the changes.

She chose to practice at GreenField Health because the care and services for adolescents and young adults is different than traditional pediatrics, and different than traditional internal medicine, and she felt that this age group needed care in a very specialized manner.

Dr. Koeller “likes so many things about GreenField.” She loves the GreenField philosophy that good medical care starts with the patient-provider relationship and that it takes time and energy to provide the care necessary to develop a good patient-provider relationship. She likes the ambiance of the office, enjoys working with her colleagues and support staff, and is happy to have their expertise when needed.

She joined GreenField Health in 2007. Before GreenField Health, she worked at the Kartini Clinic for Disordered Eating in Portland and at the University of Portland’s student health center. She also worked at the CARE Center- a child abuse response and evaluation center.

She is married with 3 teenage children (ages 16, 17 & 17). Her husband is also a physician and works at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU). She really likes it when her kids will do something with her- go to the movies, go shopping or out to a good restaurant- as they will soon be off to college and she wants to make the most of their time together before they leave.

She loves the outdoors. She hikes at least once a week, somewhere in the Portland area and likes to try other places. She often hikes with a group of close friends. She enjoys cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, and downhill skiing. She loves to read, especially mysteries. She enjoys going to the theatre to see a good play (musicals are not her favorite) or to the movies.

Something you may not know about Dr. Koeller is that she participates in the Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat races each year and is on a team called “the Mothership” - a team of all mothers. According to Dr. Koeller, they “do quite well, but have not won…yet.” GreenField wishes her and the other mother’s on her team good luck in 2010!

Adolescent Matters: Got the Blues?

Whether it’s due to hormone changes, stress or pubertal changes, adolescence is typically known as a time of fluctuating moods. “She’s happy, chatting excitedly about a project she plans to work on and then a few hours later she’s holed up in her room, cranky and doesn’t want to be bothered!” comments one mother. When is moodiness normal teen behavior and when is it a sign of depression?

Depression is a medical condition that can cause a wide variety of physical and psychological symptoms. Extreme and long lasting sadness is the best known symptom of depression, but often in adolescents the predominant symptom is feeling annoyed or bothered by others.

Depression differs from the usual ups and downs one may experience through the day because depression is a persistent low mood or irritability that lasts at least 2 weeks. Depression often interferes with an adolescent’s ability to interact with others, complete school work, and enjoy extracurricular activities. Some of the physical symptoms that may indicate depression include fatigue, changes in appetite, or headaches. The emotional and psychological symptoms may include feeling overwhelmed, irritable, sad, worthless, or wanting to be alone. Usually someone with depression has more than one of the signs or symptoms.

The exact cause of depression is not known. Studies indicate that depression is a biological disorder resulting at least in part, to an imbalance of neurochemicals in the brain that play a role in all brain function, including emotional health. The basis of treatment is to reestablish the normal balance of the neurochemicals in the brain either through therapy, medication or both.

Here are some questions to ask when considering if you or a friend or family member may be depressed:

In the past 2 weeks have you often:
• Been bothered by things that usually don’t bother you?
• Been unable to feel happy, even when your family or friends try to help you feel better?
• Felt not hungry or more hungry than usual?
• Felt sad?
• Felt too tired to do things?
• Been unable to sleep well?
• Felt like you couldn’t pay attention?
• Found it hard to get started doing things?

Although this can be a difficult thing to discuss with others, please consider speaking to your GreenField physician if you are persistently experiencing any of the above symptoms and the symptom(s) are not improving.

Office Notes

• Our clinics will be closed on Thursday, November 26th in observance of Thanksgiving Day. We are open for normal clinic hours on Wednesday the 25th and Friday the 27th. As always, we will have a GreenField physician available for your urgent and emergent medical needs. You can reach us at 503.292.9560.
  

This Thanksgiving, we wish you and yours a joyous and happy holiday, and we include you in the things we are thankful for this year.

Sincerely,

Your GreenField Team

Alisyn Shaw, CMA, your Health Coordinator
Angie Ashburn, CMA, your Health Coordinator
Beth Davis, your Business Office Manager
Bonnie Hicks, your Billing Clerk
Carrie Destefano, CMA, your Health Coordinator
Chuck Kilo, MD
Connie Turner, MA, your Health Coordinator
Cynthia Ferrier, MD
Dana Lee, MA, your Clinical Supervisor
Danika Pellicano, NCMA, your Health Coordinator
David Hays, MD
David Shute, MD
Elizabeth Hays, MD
Jill Arena, your COO
Joel Swartzmiller, your IT Manager
Kate Griggs, your Administrative Assistant
Kim Walgraeve, your Marketing Manager
Kristin Walker, your Program and Executive Assistant
Malcolm McAninch, MD
Marsha Box, MA, your Health Coordinator
Meena Mital, MD
Pam Mockenhaupt, CMA, your Health Coordinator and Biller
Paula Koeller, MD
Peter Casey, your Consultant
Samantha Charles, your Clinic Administrator

GreenField Health at Barnes Road
9427 SW Barnes Road, Suite 590
Portland, OR 97225

GreenField Health at NE Broadway
2606 NE Broadway, Suite C
Portland, OR 97232

Phone: 503.292.9560
Fax: 503.292.9510
Web: http://www.GreenFieldHealth.com

questions, concerns, comments always appreciated:
questions@GreenFieldHealth.com

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