Chronic Condition Management in Southlake, TX
Steady management of the conditions that need attention every few months, on a schedule that actually gets kept.
We see patients age 16 and older.
Chronic conditions get worse quietly and better slowly. Magnolia manages diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, thyroid disease and early kidney disease as ongoing relationships with a set schedule of labs, medication adjustments and follow-up, not as a series of disconnected fifteen-minute visits with whoever was available.
What we manage
- Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. A1c every three months while adjusting, every six once you are steady. Annual kidney and eye screening, foot checks, and an honest conversation about which medication fits your life and your budget.
- High blood pressure. Your home readings matter more than the one we take in the office. We teach you to measure properly and adjust based on your numbers.
- High cholesterol. Lipids in the context of your overall cardiovascular risk. Statin intolerance is common, treatable, and not the end of the road.
- Thyroid disease. Hypothyroid and hyperthyroid management, careful dosing, and the judgment to leave a mildly abnormal TSH alone when treating it would do more harm than good.
- Chronic kidney disease. Stages 1 through 3 managed here, with nephrology brought in when the numbers call for it.
- Heart failure, COPD and asthma. Stable disease managed here, with specialist co-management when needed.
How follow-up actually works
Every chronic care patient leaves with a date. Not “come back in a few months,” but a scheduled appointment and a list of which labs to have drawn beforehand so the results are in hand when you sit down.
That last part matters more than it sounds. A visit where the labs get drawn afterward is a visit where nothing gets decided. You end up with a portal message three days later and no plan.
Between visits
You reach us through the portal. Medication side effects, a home blood pressure log that looks wrong, a question about whether to keep taking something after a bad week: none of that should wait for the next appointment.
For patients on Medicare with two or more chronic conditions, the chronic care management benefit covers coordination between visits, including a care plan you receive and a point of contact. We explain the cost share before enrolling anyone, because nobody should discover it on a statement.
Why a smaller practice helps here
Chronic disease management fails on continuity far more often than it fails on medical knowledge. The guidelines are not secret. Following them across years, with the same person watching, is the hard part.
Rachael Bowen, NP sees the same patients over time, so she notices when your weight has drifted up eight pounds across three visits, or when your blood pressure got worse the same month you changed jobs. Dr. Farhan Abdullah, DO, board certified in internal medicine, sets the clinical protocols the practice follows and reviews the clinical content on this site.
Medication cost is a clinical issue
A prescription you do not fill does nothing. We treat cost as part of the medical decision, not an administrative afterthought.
That means checking your formulary before we send something, using the generic when the generic is equivalent, consolidating into combination pills where it reduces both pill burden and copay, and telling you when a manufacturer program or a discount card will beat your insurance.
Deprescribing
Adding medications is easy and stopping them is rare, which is how people end up on eleven drugs. At least once a year we go through the whole list and ask what each one is still doing.
Some were started for a problem that resolved. Some carry more risk than benefit at your current age or kidney function. Stopping one is sometimes the single best thing we do all year.
Patients tracking blood pressure or glucose at home should look at remote patient monitoring, which catches drift months earlier than quarterly checks do.
New to us? Read about what to expect as a new patient, then our primary care Southlake practice overview.
Questions about your own case?
These pages describe how we treat this generally. What matters is your history, your labs and your medications, and that takes a visit. We are taking new patients now and most major insurance is accepted.
Questions patients ask
How often will I be seen?
It depends on control. While we are adjusting a medication, every six to twelve weeks. Once your numbers are stable, most patients settle into every three to six months.
Can you take over from my current doctor?
Yes. Bring your medication bottles and your most recent labs, or sign a records release at your first visit and we request them. We would rather read your last two years of numbers than start from zero.
Will I have to repeat labs I just had done?
Usually not. If your outside labs are recent and complete, we use them. Repeating a normal A1c from six weeks ago wastes your money and your arm.
How do refills work between visits?
Through the portal or your pharmacy. We tie refill length to your follow-up schedule, so a refill request is often the reminder that you are due to be seen.
Does Medicare pay for chronic care management between visits?
Medicare has a chronic care management benefit for patients with two or more chronic conditions, which covers care coordination outside of office visits. There can be a small monthly cost share. We explain it before enrolling anyone.
Related care at Magnolia
2111 Kirkwood Blvd, Ste 110C, Southlake. Free parking directly in front.