Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

In an ongoing effort to bridge collaboration between DPC Doctors and Specialists we want to share information about Dr. Girnita:

My name is Diana Girnita M.D., Ph.D. I am US Board-Certified in Rheumatology and Internal Medicine and licensed to treat patients in multiple states in the USA, including Arizona, California, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Texas. I have clinical, teaching, and research background, including a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, followed by an immunology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh and a rheumatology fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. I am a volunteer faculty for rheumatology fellows at the University of Cincinnati. Over the last four years, I promoted five medical residents into the field of rheumatology.

I am a volunteer speaker and advocate for the National Arthritis Foundation and have been for many years. My peers recognized me with a ‘Top Doctors’ award in Ohio multiple consecutive years in a row. 

I am a great advocate of evidence-based medicine, complemented by integrative medicine. I treat the patient, their body, mind, and spirit – not the disease. I am a graduate of a Nutrition Science course at Stanford University and from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center MBSR course. 

For many years, I admired a few colleagues of mine who dared to start their DPC practice. I always wanted to be able to practice medicine in a transparent, affordable, and personable way. For me, the interaction with the patient and other physicians means everything. The access to specialists should not be limited by insurance, undisclosed costs, regional barriers.

In our days, everyone has a smartphone in the pocket. We use it as a GPS to pay bills, access our bank account, make purchases, communicate with others, listen to music, see movies…….why should we not use it to go to the doctor?

At the beginning of 2020, I established a telemedicine company called Rheumatologist Oncall that introduces convenience to specialized medicine. Rheumatologist Oncall provides instant access to specialist care in a digital format to meet the patient’s lifestyle. Patients can access me from their phone, laptop, or desktop. As you likely know, access to rheumatological services is limited to metropolitan areas, mostly on the west and east coast of the US, but scarcely any in the nation’s middle, northern or southern regions. The cost to access specialists is often a significant burden to the patient. The cost of the visit, labs, or imaging can be prohibitive. Patients without insurance generally have no options to access specialist care.

My company, Rheumatologist Oncall, accelerates the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. 

Rheumatologist Oncall is the only company that offers a unique approach. When comparing the traditional healthcare systems with my company, there are a few highlights, which are contained in the table attached. My company does not discriminate based on the insurance company and offers easy access, very affordable and transparent cost to patients in many US states. 

For the last 8 months, I am giving free rheumatology educational lectures to the DPC community nationwide. The DPC physicians join me to discuss their cases in a fun and relaxed environment, with everyone’s imputing. I also addressed common topics like: 

  • “What to do with a positive ANA?”
  • “How to evaluate back pain?”
  • “Fibromyalgia evaluation and approach for the PCP.”
  • etc

I have also sent a weekly newsletter called “Tip of The Week in Rheumatology” with valuable information for patients and physicians. 

I enjoy the collaboration with the DPC community. I gave many free e-consults too and helped them in no time. My goal is to:

  • Raise awareness that specialists are interested in pursuing DIRECT care, I actually started a group where specialists that practice direct care/ membership/ concierge medicine started to join. So far about 90 doctors. I am educating them about the DPC model and telemedicine options and I am bringing people that could also educate them to make the BIG step to get out of the traditional FFS.
  • Raisie awareness that my practice can help the DPC community with e-consults and telemedicine in the states that I am licensed (OH, IN, KY, CA, AZ, soon in TX)
  • Learn more from you about the DPC culture that could be applied to specialist care (especially chronic disease management like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis etc in rheumatology)
  • Educate the DPC community about common things in rheumatology. I am happy to give free curbside consults, I have gave many of them.

Here is my website: https://dianagirnitamd.com/ 
Or http://www.rheumatologistoncall.com 

FB page:https://www.facebook.com/Rheumatologistoncall 
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-girnita-md-phd-07b57810/ 

7310cookie-checkDiana Girnita M.D., Ph.D. and Rheumatologist Oncall
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By Douglas Farrago, MD

Douglas Farrago MD is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. He is the inventor of a product called the Knee Saver which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He is also the inventor of the CryoHelmet used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers. From 2001 – 2011, Dr. Farrago was the editor and creator of the Placebo Journal which ran for 10 full years. Described as the Mad Magazine for doctors, he and the Placebo Journal were featured in the Washington Post, US News and World Report, the AP, and the NY Times. Douglas Farrago, MD received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree in the area of Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. Dr. Farrago has practiced family medicine for twenty-three years, first in Auburn, Maine and now in Forest, Virginia. He founded Forest Direct Primary Care in 2014, which quickly filled in 18 months. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago’s has written three books on direct primary care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice, The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal and Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) are all best sellers in this genre. He is a leading expert in direct primary care model and lectures medical students, residents, and doctors on how to start their own DPC practice. He retired from clinical medicine in October, 2020.

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