Thwing Medical Group

04/19/2025

First sunburn (thankfully mild) of the season, and I am so glad to have an aloe plant!
I rubbed some fresh juice from the leaf onto my face and back of my neck, and it already feel SO MUCH better.
Publix sells aloe leaves (the bottled stuff is useless), and I have many aloes at my office to give away to my pasty patients who might need the relief.

04/19/2025

I appreciate this comprehensive post by Dr. Hensley.
I have heard this baffling rumor from a handful of patients, and I agree with Theo that statins are on the whole somewhat *protective* as regards dementia risk.
Please, please don't take internet musings and chatter in the beauty parlor as gospel!
When you hear something unsettling, just ask your doctor about it. I promise that we have your best interests at heart, and we do not get any kind of kickback (not even a pen or pad of paper nowadays!) from drug companies.

04/18/2025

We are closed until Monday for Easter, but of course I am always available by cellphone to my patients.
Don't hesitate to text or call me if you need me.
Happy Easter!

Found on Google from amazon.com

02/26/2025

Michelle, my wonderful Medical Assistant, has taken an excellent job offer in middle Tennessee, so I am looking for a new nurse.
If you would like to work in a small medical office and like being busy and developing relationships with a slew of very nice patients, log on to the Summit website and submit an application ASAP.
Being able to draw blood well is a must, as is being friendly and professional.
I will teach you as much as you want to learn. Several of my previous MAs are now RNs. I'm very proud of how their careers have taken off, but now I'm hunting for a new assistant.

If you're interested, here's the application link

02/26/2025

I have had many patients ask me if they need an MMR (Measles/Mumps/Rubella) booster vaccine given the uptick in Measles and a probable case of Mumps in Abingdon.
There is not much guidance from the major medical organizations yet, but I have come to a preliminary conclusion:
Most people, even the elderly, do not at this time need an MMR vaccine booster. I doubt Medicare will pay for it in any event.
However, for certain high-risk patients I think that paying $135 for an MMR booster is probably a good idea.
There are no clear guidelines as to who exactly is "high risk", so I encourage my concerned patients to discuss their personal cases with me, and we can come to a decision together whether or not to re-vaccinate. Those on chemotherapy, with several medical problems, etc. are probably candidates.
The one patient I vaccinated last week reported no side effects at all from taking the MMR.

01/23/2025

I just this minute became aware of a 24-hour glucose monitor that not only is relatively affordable, but it does not require a prescription or insurance authorization!
It is made by the same folks who make the excellent Dexcom G7 monitor and looks very similar.
You wear the little patch on your arm and change it twice a month; it communicates with your smartphone so that you can simply glance and see what your sugar is running at any moment, and it makes a little graph so that you can see what times of day (or night while you're sleeping) that your sugar might be going out of control.
The 24-hour continuous glucose monitors have been a game-changer, but trying to get the prescription versions covered by insurance has been a nightmare.
The Stelo appears to be a *very* welcome product for many of my diabetic and pre-diabetic patients!
The cost is $99 for two sensors, but if you subscribe for monthly delivery, it's $89 or $84 if you get 6 at a time.

Start your journey to better glucose health and save 10% on Stelo Glucose Biosensor monthly subscription.

12/17/2024

I have an Alexa at my house - mostly to listen to music and ask what the weather is like outside - and on a whim I asked it to "Call LeAnne" which it promptly did.
The reason I'm posting this tidbit on my Medical Group page is a potentially very useful ability that Alexa could offer to my patients: namely "Alexa, call 911!"
If you have an elderly relative who won't use a "panic button" and has Wi-Fi, consider giving them an Alexa dot or two for their house. If they were to fall or have some other emergency, they could just holler for Alexa to call you or a neighbor or 911.
Once you're bought the Alexa Echo Dot or Pop (they are currently on sale at Amazon for about 20 bucks), it's free to use, and I didn't find it hard at all to set up.

11/29/2024

Also, I want my patients to know that, even though I won't be in the office tomorrow or until Monday, if you really need something that I can take care of with a phone call or text, I don't mind a bit doing what I can to keep you out of a line at an Urgent Care.
I won't be able to meet you at the office this weekend like I usually can (I'm recuperating from a knee arthroscopy), but I've got my phone and my computer.
Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

11/29/2024

You guys have consumed a big dose of sodium today. Drink water tonight!

10/24/2024

Well, I have to crow a little about my new partner, Dr. Rebecca Lindberg.
Summit surveys patients after their visit at a Summit clinic to gauge patient satisfaction and identify areas of improvement. There are 213 physicians in Summit Medical Group across East Tennessee, and look who is #1 right now in patient satisfaction!
(I placed #6, and I'll gladly take that spot)
I am so glad that Dr. Lindberg is appreciated by her patients.

10/02/2024

Summit Medical Group in Knoxville will be sending us a Porta Potty tomorrow morning, so Thwing Medical Group will be fully open for patients again!
We are also glad to update anyone's Tetanus vaccine (whether you're our patient or not)

10/02/2024

If any worker needs a Tetanus shot, just stop by my office and we'll get you taken care of. No charge.
Actually, if anyone is worried that their tetanus is overdue, come by and we'll get you updated. It doesn't matter if you are my patient or not.
Tetanus vaccines are good for ten years (actually, they are good for 13 years or so, but we don't like to take chances), so if it's been a minute since your last booster, stop on by.
Just call me to make sure we are there and haven't run out of vaccine:
639-0707
My office is next to the YMCA

09/22/2024

Trying to figure out which Medicare coverage to get once you reach 65 years old is very confusing. You can get regular Medicare and then add on the Part D for medications and also a Medigap plan which covers the 20% that Medicare doesn't cover, or you can get a Medicare Advantage plan that lumps all the Part A & B & D and everything else all into one coverage.
Everybody's situation is different, so don't ask me which would be best for you! I do know that Medicare premiums are going to be rising this coming year because of changes the Federal government has been making. There will now be a $2000 out of pocket cap for your medications each year which is certainly nice for those who have to buy expensive medications. However, that money has to come from somewhere, so the premiums on everyone, whether they take expensive meds or not, will be rising.
I wasn't even aware until just recently that you had to pay for Medicare coverage!
Well, the government has a website to help you decide which sort of Medicare makes the most sense for you. It's pretty easy to navigate, though the whole topic is confusing.
https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare/ #/?year=2024&lang=en
Also, the good folks with Summit Medical Group in Knoxville have Medicare navigators who can help our patients. Your doc can give you the contact information for them.
In the comments, I've included comparisons of some of the Advantage plans. There are far too many Medigap and Part D plans for me to attempt to sort out here.
Good luck, all you folks who are about my age!!

09/14/2024

I highly recommend these Oncologists. When my own mother had a blood disorder, I took her here even though she lived in North Carolina. Dr Patel fixed her right up, and I am very grateful!. They have taken excellent care of my patients through the years, and I have no qualms at all using them first line for any of my patients with either cancer or a blood disorder.

With our 14 locations serving the East Tennessee area, we are proud to be as convenient as we are comprehensive for our patients.

08/20/2024

Dr. Rebecca Lindberg's first day went very well - I am excited about our partnership. It's such a pleasure to have another physician in the office to bounce concerns and ideas off of!
Now that she has joined up, our office will be open every weekday including Tuesdays, and we'll have extended hours to 6:30 on Mondays and Thursdays to try to accommodate those who work or go to school and can't easily take time off just for a wart or routine BP follow-up.
I have been unable to take very many new patients for quite a long time, but that's changed now! We are open to new patients, so if you've been wanting to become a patient of Thwing Medical Group, now's the time to call.
639-0707

08/20/2024

Now that Dr. Lindberg has joined up, we are open every weekday (that includes Tuesdays now!) with extended hours until 6:00 on Mondays and Thursdays.
If you work or go to school, we can accommodate your schedule.

639-0707

08/16/2024

There is a whole lot of COVID going around right now - I've seen or spoken on the phone with nearly a dozen of my own patients this week who have it.
The illness doesn't seem to be especially severe - bad sore throat, some headache, tiredness and sniffles - but the newest variant seems to be very contagious. Vaccines and infections with previous strains of COVID don't appear to be protective.
Most people do not require any treatment other than Nyquil and chicken soup and lots of rest, but the elderly and those with diabetes, heart disease or other comorbidities get Paxlovid.
Wash your hands often!

07/30/2024

Some of you have already heard, but my new partner, Dr. Rebecca Lindberg, will start seeing patients in less than three weeks.
I have been full and overflowing with current patients and people calling in hoping to become new patients at this practice, so I am THRILLED to have some help.
Rebecca trained at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (one of the top-rated medical schools for primary care in the country) and did her residency in Med-Peds which means that she is Board-certified in both adult medicine and pediatrics. She is very bright, and I am very much looking forward to having an excellent peer with whom to collaborate on tricky problems.
She had been practicing in Indianapolis the last 13 years, but she and her husband felt strongly led by the Lord to move down to this area - so they did! She and Lindston are strong Christians and fit right in with all of us in the office. And she is fluent in Spanish!
I am expecting Greeneville to fall in love with her, and I know that my patients will be very impressed by her, too.
We are still working on getting all of her Tennessee numbers and insurance paperwork settled (Medicare takes forever), but she will start seeing patients August 19th.