Stephen Hammack, MD, FAAFP

11/21/2023

06/18/2023

I’m extremely excited to be joining an organization with the history and reputation of Hattiesburg Clinic. I start seeing patients June 26.

08/11/2021

Stephen C. Hammack, MD, FAAFP, shares tips for your family as kids get ready to start back to school. Before the fall schedule gets too busy, make time for y...

12/18/2020

I’ve been fortunate to avoid having COVID-19 despite personally evaluating and testing thousands of patients over the past 9 months. Yesterday I was able to receive my first dose of the vaccine. This morning, I have minimal soreness in my arm but otherwise feel completely normal. Yes, this vaccine was developed quickly, but the research was done well and shows excellent safety and effectiveness. No vaccine is 100% safe, but based on what we know today about the virus and the vaccine, the vaccine is far safer than the virus.

We all want to return to normal. We've been hearing about herd immunity for months. The fact is, we need about 70% of people to be immune to the virus, either by having the virus or getting vaccinated, to achieve herd immunity and a safe return toward normal. Despite everything we've sacrificed in 2020, including missed birthday parties, graduations, weddings, vacations, concerts, sporting events, closed businesses, and the loss of over 300,000 American lives, a little over 5% of Americans have tested positive for COVID-19 so far. There are certainly some undiagnosed cases, but we're still nowhere close to reaching herd immunity through infections alone. We desperately need a very large number of American adults (no vaccine is available for those under 16 yet) to step up and do their part to get us back to some semblance of normal by taking the vaccine when it is offered.

08/31/2020

I’d like to comment on the article about the CDC saying only 6% of COVID-19 deaths are solely from COVID. Many people are pointing to this article as evidence the pandemic is a hoax. This is absolutely not the case. These statistics from the CDC are not even newsworthy. All they are saying is that 94% of death certificates had other conditions listed in addition to COVID-19. These conditions are either complications of COVID-19 or underlying medical problems.

People don’t just die of COVID. They develop pneumonia, strokes, kidney failure, and many other conditions that will appear on death certificates. This doesn’t change the fact that they died because they had COVID.

It’s been stated repeatedly from the beginning of the pandemic that people with underlying medical problems are more likely to die of COVID. These conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and others. There is a place on a death certificate to list other significant medical conditions, even if they did not directly cause the death. Again, having conditions listed here does not change the fact that the person died when they died because they had COVID.

05/29/2020

I have been seeing many posts and advertisements about COVID-19 antibody testing recently. Some of these posts have incomplete information, while others are downright misleading, so I decided to weigh in on the subject.

First of all, there are 2 types of COVID-19 antibody tests, IgM and IgG. IgM antibodies appear first, a few days after the infection is acquired, then disappear over the next couple of weeks. IgG antibodies appear about 2 weeks into the infection but last much longer. IgG antibody testing is what most people are interested in right now, since it indicates a previous COVID-19 infection.

IgG tests that are run on sophisticated instruments in large laboratories appear to be very accurate. This antibody test is what most clinics are now conducting, including mine. Blood samples are sent to either a hospital or other large laboratory, and results are typically back within a day or two. There are other test kits that are used in some clinics with results in a few minutes, but this type of test is much less reliable than the ones sent to labs with complex instruments.

The test with which I am most familiar is the Abbott brand, since this test is what my lab uses. The sensitivity of this test is virtually 100% as long as it has been 3 weeks or more since infection occurred. Its specificity is approximately 99.8%, which means that 99.8% of patients who have not had COVID-19 will test negative. This is a highly satisfactory number, but if tens of thousands of patients are tested, these false positives will add up. Nevertheless, we know this test is of excellent quality to identify if IgG antibodies are present. What is unknown is whether having IgG antibodies signifies having immunity from future COVID-19 infections, and if you do have immunity, how long it lasts. We’ve only known this virus existed for about 6 months, so finding these answers will take time. A positive IgG antibody test does mean that you may be able to donate plasma to potentially help those infected with the COVID-19 virus.

So, should you have the IgG antibody test done? It’s not essential that anyone get tested right now, but there’s also no harm in having it done if you want it either. Here are some scenarios to think about.

-If you had a respiratory infection this past winter, weren’t tested for COVID-19, and are interested in donating plasma if you’re eligible, it is likely worthwhile to have the IgG antibody test.

-If you were around people who tested positive for COVID-19 (in your workplace, for example), but you were never tested, and you just want to know if you had this virus, it is less worthwhile to have the IgG antibody test, but worth considering if you really want to know if you were previously infected..

-If you haven’t been sick and are just curious, it is probably not worth having an IgG antibody test, but it won’t hurt anything if you want to have it anyway. My observations and research lead me to believe that no more than 3-5% of Mississippians have antibodies at this time.

My clinic charges $50 for the test plus your usual out of pocket cost for an office visit. We do require an office visit so that we can explain what the test means and what it doesn’t. I think this pricing and requirement of a visit is consistent across most clinics. Insurance may cover the cost of the test, but the coverage varies from one insurance plan to another. Also, I would expect people to be tested more than once as the months go by, and if an insurance company pays for the test at all, I would not expect them to cover it repeatedly, so plan to pay up front for this IgG antibody test for the foreseeable future. If you are interested in testing at my clinic, call 601-200-4321

05/04/2020

At St. Dominic Family Practice in Gluckstadt, we are excited to take a small step toward normal operations this week. We have resumed seeing some well patients in person in addition to those who are ill. Our top priority during this process is the safety of all of our patients and staff. Telehealth remains an option and is encouraged when it is appropriate. However, if you have a situation that needs to be evaluated in person, we have systems in place to take care of you safely. Here are some of our safety measures:

-We will schedule well patients in the morning and sick patients in the afternoon. If you have an urgent need, please call and we will work with you to make appropriate arrangements.

-At this time, we have enough exam rooms to designate some as sick rooms and some as well rooms. This is in addition to not having sick and well patients present at the same time. All rooms are thoroughly cleaned after each patient.

-We are spacing our in-person visits to minimize the number of patients in the building at any given time, keeping the waiting room nearly empty. You also have the option to wait in your vehicle if an exam room is not ready when you arrive.

-All patients and staff will wear masks. Please wear a mask into the building if you have one. If you do not, we will provide one upon arrival.

-Our HVAC ducts have ionizers installed. These ions can attach to allergens, bacteria, and viruses suspended in the air and make them heavier so that they fall to the ground.

We want you to feel as safe in our clinic as you do anywhere outside your own home. Call 601-200-4321 for telehealth or in-person appointments. We also hope to have online scheduling available soon, so be watching for details on that.

04/16/2020

St. Dominic's Family Medicine-Gluckstadt has the abililty to treat respiratory infections, test for COVID-19 and provide guidance to patients returning to work. Call 601-200-4321 to schedule an appointment.

03/24/2020

Concerned about COVID-19? Make an appointment first.

03/23/2020

St. Dominic's COVID-19 Testing Resource Clarification