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I recently decided to change doctors and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of care and service that I received at the office of Dr. Powell’s Total Care Family Medical Center. This facility has urgent care as you will see in their back page ad but they also have another side to their facility for family medicine by appointment. The service I received was so much improved over my past experiences at another local doctor’s office that I wanted to be sure everyone who is looking for quality care at an affordable cost will consider my experience and feel confident that there is a local office that still puts the patient first.
Let me begin by sharing what first prompted me to start looking for a new doctor. As a smoker for over 50 years and after trying to quit using a variety of products on the market including the nicotine patch and nicotine gum without success, my former doctor recommended Chantix, a rather expensive prescription medication with less than a 50% success rate. The doctor and physician’s assistant assured me this was a safe drug that had no side effects. I was on my third prescription refill when while watching television a commercial for a law firm warned of the side effects of Chantix that included death by suicide. I never would have connected the side effects I was experiencing to Chantix had it not been for this commercial. I received no call, no post card, nothing from my doctor. On my next visit, I told my doctor that the least they could have done when they found out they had misinformed their patients was to make a phone call to see if their patients were all right. My suggestion was brushed aside. I immediately stopped taking the drug and through an ad in The Bugle I found Sandra Bright, a Clinical Hypnotherapist who specializes in helping people stop smoking - with a 95% success rate. And it worked! I did need a second hypnosis session but it was without any additional cost.
The second problem I had at my local doctor’s office was trying to get my thyroid prescriptions filled in a timely manner. My pharmacy rarely had the fax when I arrived to pick up my refills. Plus this prescription requires a blood test every six months to check to see if the dosage level needs to be increased. I always got a call from the doctor’s office to come in after they got the results which was at an additional office visit charge of $100 before they would renew my prescription. Imagine my surprise, when Dr. Powell’s Total Care Family Medical Center mailed me my lab results. Not only did they save me the expense of a second office visit, they mailed me a copy of the results along with details about the normal ranges expected for each test so I would have a record to keep at home and to track over time myself.
Lastly, I must say that the staff at Dr. Powell’s office works for you. When you arrive for your appointment, they actually sit with you, ask questions about your current medical history and enter the information into a computer as you respond. At the other doctor’s office you couldn’t get past the receptionist without filling out a form telling them what you are there for. If you are looking for improved service from a medical provider I recommend that you give Total Care Family Medical Center a try.
Also, if your New Year’s resolution is to finally quit smoking, call the Bugle office and ask for Sandra Bright’s phone number. I was a skeptic about hypnotherapy too and the doctor who prescribed Chantix said I was the last person they would have expected hypnosis to work for. I have now been smoke free for over a year and truly without any side effects. Bill Knight, Murrieta
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