CenterPieceNEW

 An e-health newsletter brought to you by the doctors and staff at Virginia Women's Center. 

October 2015  
In This Issue
Saturday Appointments: Added Convenience to Help you LIVE HEALTHY
Seasonal Flu Vaccine Now Available
Helping our Community....LIVE HEALTHY
Yeast Infections: Over-the-counter or Prescription Treatment?
The Transition to ICD-10
Online Patient Resources 
   

Find us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter   View our videos on YouTube   Find us on Pinterest    

Secure Patient Portal
  
  
Our Locations

 

  
  
  
Join Our Mailing List
Welcome, Nurse Practitioner Katy Lawlor!
 
Katie Lawlor
Kathryn Lawlor, W.H.N.P.-B.C.
Kathryn A. Lawlor, W.H.N.P-B.C. will begin practicing at our Mechanicsville location in October. Katy earned her undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and her nursing degree from Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing in Richmond. She received her master's degree from Vanderbilt University's Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Program.

Katy is skilled in women's health throughout the lifespan and enjoys providing well-woman, prenatal and postpartum care. Her background in antepartum and postpartum nursing has shaped her love of caring for and educating women throughout their pregnancies. In addition, Katy provides contraceptive counseling, menopause management, and Osteoporosis prevention, management and treatment.

Katy is a member of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, and the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health.

When she's not working, Katy spends as much time as she can with her seven nieces and nephews. She enjoys crafting and will monogram just about anything.

To schedule an appointment with Katy, please call our office at 804.288.4084 or request an appointment through our secure patient portal.
Seasonal Flu Vaccine Now Available
Woman with Cold

While we are just starting to think about fall in Virginia, it's important that we take steps now to protect ourselves from what is just around the corner: flu season. Patients who have an appointment with our practice during flu season will be able to receive the vaccine for the influenza virus. All doses that we have available for the 2015-2016 flu season are the preservative-free, inactivated form of the quadrivalent vaccine.
 
Vaccines for the seasonal influenza virus are often also available at primary care physician offices, through your job, local pharmacies and some grocery stores. In line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, our practice suggests the following:
 
If you will be attempting pregnancy, are currently pregnant (in any trimester) or breastfeeding during flu season (October through March), the seasonal flu shot is recommended. The vaccine poses no danger to the baby, and you cannot get the seasonal flu from the seasonal flu shot. Pregnant women should not have the "live" or activated seasonal influenza vaccine which comes in nasal spray form.

It is especially important that our pregnant patients receive the flu vaccine. In addition to protecting the mother, the vaccine will also protect her unborn baby during pregnancy and after birth. Because of the changes that occur during pregnancy, the flu is more likely to cause severe illness in pregnant women and pregnant women who have the flu have a greater chance of having serious problems with their unborn babies, including miscarriage or preterm birth. Even if you received the flu vaccine last year, it is important to have annual vaccination as the virus can change from year to year and the vaccine becomes less effective over time.
Saturday Appointments: Added Convenience to help you LIVE HEALTHY
  
We all have busy schedules and we know there are times when fitting in a well-woman appointment is the last item on your to-do list. We also know that some problems start on Fridays and there are times when waiting until Monday just isn't an option.

Virginia Women's Center is making it easier for you to LIVE HEALTHY by offering convenient Saturday appointments. Gynecologic appointments are offered on Saturdays between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. at the following locations on a rotating basis: St. Francis Medical Pavilion, Henrico Doctors' Forest Medical Plaza and Mechanicsville.

To schedule a gynecologic appointment on a Saturday, please call 804.288.4084 Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. As always, we look forward to helping you LIVE HEALTHY throughout the week - and now on Saturdays, too!
Yeast Infections: Over-the-counter or Prescription Treatment?
  
Vaginal yeast infections are very common and something that many women will experience throughout their lives. A yeast infection is one type of vaginitis, or inflammation of the vagina.

What causes yeast infections?

Just as all women have some vaginal discharge, all women also have a normal balance between the amount of yeast and the amount of bacteria that naturally occurs in the vagina. Yeast infections happen when the normal balance is upset, and an overgrowth of yeast occurs.
 
There are several factors that can increase a woman's likelihood of developing a yeast infection including antibiotics, contraceptives, pregnancy, diabetes, sexual activity and a weakened immune system (from HIV or certain medications).

Doctor with Patient 

What are the symptoms of a yeast infection?

The symptoms of a yeast infection commonly include:
*  Itching or irritation around the opening of the vagina
*  Pain or burning during urination or intercourse
*  Vaginal soreness, pain or irritation
*  Redness or swelling of the vaginal tissues
*  White and clumpy discharge, thin and watery discharge or no abnormal discharge at all

To continue reading this article, visit our Living Well blog.
The Transition to ICD-10

What is ICD-10?
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a medical classification list created by the World Health Organization. Used by health care providers, researchers and policymakers across the world, ICD is a way to classify diseases and other health problems. ICD allows researchers to study the health and/or prevalence of disease in entire countries or populations.

ICD-10 is the 10th revision to ICD. On October 1, 2015, health care providers across the United States transitioned from ICD-9 to ICD-10. 

How does ICD-10 affect my health care providers?
The transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 increases the number of codes from 14,000 to over 69,000, allowing health care providers to capture a greater level of detail in each patient's care. ICD-10 is intended to allow for more accurate analysis of health data, which is intended to help drive quality and efficiency of patient care, particularly as electronic sharing and exchange of health records grows.

What does ICD-10 mean to me?
When you access your medical record through our secure patient portal, you will likely notice changes to diagnosis descriptions. Some of these changes include greater specificity as it relates to routine well-woman exams, the severity of symptoms, and what is considered a normal or high-risk pregnancy.

Virginia Women's Center

www.VirginiaWomensCenter.com 

804.288.4084
*****

Centerpiece contains health information for women of all ages and news about Virginia Women's Center. It is not meant to be substituted as medical advice from your doctor. If we have your email address in our electronic medical records system, you should receive a copy automatically. Virginia Women's Center will not share your email address with anyone outside our offices. Be sure to set your email filter to accept mail from vwcnewsletter@vwcenter.com.

 

To ensure the privacy of our communications with patients of Virginia Women's Center, you are unable to reply to this newsletter. Should you wish to connect with us, please utilize our secure patient portal  or contact us by phone at 804.288.4084.