Southeast Texas Medical Associates, LLP James L. Holly, M.D. Southeast Texas Medical Associates, LLP


Your Life Your Health - So much information, so many experts, who to believe?
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James L. Holly,M.D.
September 21, 2001
Your Life Your Health - The Examiner

70% of the searches made on the Internet are concerning healthcare issues. Self-help books abound on how to lose weight, how to forestall aging, how to prevent various illnesses and how to maintain or regain health. The newspaper announces new cures and/or new treatments almost daily. The evening news, national and local, reports on health issues. Along with sports and weather, health issues are the most popular news segments on television. Good healthcare information is more accessible today than ever before. The only problem is that it is so voluminous and it is mixed in with so much bad information, it is difficult to know when who to believe and what to accept.

It is for this reason that The Examiner, Channel 4 News, KLVI and Al Caldwell, Southeasttexas.com and Southeast Texas Medical Associates, LLP in conjunction with Memorial Hermann Baptist have established a strategic alliance -- Southeast Texas Health Information Coalition (SETHIC) -- through which to provide Southeast Texans with competent, timely and accurate health information. Through "Your Life -- Your Health" in The Examiner, through the Tuesday Noon news program on Channel 4 with Heather Angel, through KLVI's AL Caldwell Show on Tuesday mornings at 8:20, through Southeast Texas' premier web site for local business information, Southeasttexas.com and through collaboration with Memorial Herman Baptist Hospital, the healthcare providers of Southeast Texas Medical Associates -- Internists, Nurse Practitioners, Family Physicians, and Specialists -- will become a resource for healthcare information to our community.

If you have a health-related question, you can call, write or e-mail, The Examiner, Channel 4, KLVI, Southeasttexas.com, SETMA or Memorial Hermann Baptist and your question will be dealt with on the air, on the net or by mail. You can ask your questions via e-mail at the following addresses:

The Examiner -- www.theexaminer.com
Channel 4 -- www.nbc4online
KLVI -- www.klvi.com
SETexas.com -- www.southeasttexas.com
SETMA, LLP -- www.jameslhollymd.com
Baptist Hospital -- www.mhhs.org

The Health Information Coalition shares SETMA's philosophy about health information. In fact, "Your Life -- Your Health" is derived from this philosophy. In the past, healthcare providers were viewed as and often functioned as "constables" attempting to impose health and healthcare upon unwilling subjects, who were called patients. In the 21st Century, much of the mystery of healthcare information is being removed by the easy access which so many have to so much information. Therefore, there has been a shift from healthcare providers being "constables" to their being "counselors" who empower patients to achieve the health which they have determined to have. Previously, patients were "told" what to do and they either complied or didn't. Today, healthcare providers are inviting "people" to take charge of their own health. Healthcare providers are encouraging patients to adopt healthy habits, avoid unhealthy activities and recognize the danger signs of approaching illnesses.

Preventive health is really becoming "pro-active" health where the patient and the provider collaborate to make good choices to retain or regain as good a state of health as is possible for every individual. SETMA and the Health Information Coalition is the vanguard of Pro-active Health. The Coalition will soon announce a new service to Southeast Texans called First Nurse. Watch for the announcement and learn how First Nurse will benefit your family.

In order for this paradigm shift to succeed, patients must have more access to their healthcare provider and healthcare providers must have an expanded ability to communicate with the patients who entrust their health to them. SETHIC believes that public service programs such as those provided by Channel 4, KLVI, The Examiner and Southeasttexas.com in conjunction with healthcare providers from SETMA are part of the transition which is taking place in healthcare today. In conjunction with Memorial Hermann Baptist, all of the participants in the Health Information Coalition will make it possible for you to take charge of "your health," because it is "your life."

In Your Life -- Your Health, you will read articles about timely issues such as:

"Why Should I Take A Flu Shot?", by Pulmonologist, Dr. Qamar Arfeen,

"Why Is It Important To Control My Blood Sugar?", by Dr. Imtiaz Anwar,

"Why Is Exercise Important to My Health and How Much Is Enough?", by Certified Family Nurse Practitioner Norma, Duncan, "Vitamins and Mineral Supplements: What are the facts and what is the balance?", by James L. Holly, MD,

And, others.

You will read answers to questions sent to any one of the partners in the Southeast Texas Health Information Coalition. SETHIC wants to be your link to the growing world of useful and accurate health information. We hope that Your Life -- Your Health becomes a part of your weekly reading habit and that it contributes to your health and to your life.