What makes us different

Medication Minimalism

Modern science is important and has revolutionized several aspects of the world, but we believe that time-tested ideas are of utmost importance. When it comes to healthcare, medical research has led to breakthrough discoveries in many domains, such as medication. While we recommend and prescribe medications when appropriate, we believe that the first-line intervention against disease is lifestyle modification and prevention. We practice a medication minimalism at our practice and don’t want our patients overmedicated when possible.

The sad truth in healthcare is that doctors often prescribe medications to patients not because they are medically indicated but rather because they are pressed for time and are unable to offer more time-intensive but effective measures. For example, high blood pressure does not always require medication—lifestyle modification can easily be curative of high blood pressure. Did you know that for every 2 pounds of weight lost your systolic blood pressure can drop by 1 point? Likewise, the same is true of many other conditions addressed in an adult primary care office. We won’t prescribe medications to you unless the safest, first-line measures fail to adequately treat you. If we do provide you with prescription medication, the side effects are automatically uploaded to your patient portal for your review.

Aggressive Diagnosis

We frequently hear from our patients that they brought their most sincere, worrisome concerns to their providers who dismissed their concerns. We do not disrespect our patients like that in this practice. Sometimes symptoms and diagnoses are difficult to determine and truly perplex doctors. We will always try our best to understand your concerns and to act on your behalf. Sometimes we may not be able to identify what exactly is going wrong, but what we do guarantee is that you will not be dismissed with a hand wave here. Please let us know what is on your mind and we will take care of you.

Communication

Let’s face it—doctors, hospitals, and their associated staff are terrible at communication. However, we prioritize communication here in our office. We are not like other healthcare organizations that will only call you if something is significantly wrong. When you visit us, let us know how and what you would like to know about your health, including any labs, imaging, diagnoses, or treatment. Let us know if you would like to receive a phone call about your test results, secure message, or a follow up appointment via phone, video, or in-person. You are always welcome to call our staff who are friendly and can direct your question to the appropriate person to answer. Feel free to text our office or leave a voicemail if we are not open and we will get back to you as soon as we can. 

Speed

How often have you gone to a doctor’s office and had to face a long wait time, sometimes for an hour or more? Save time by filling out any necessary forms at home and securely send them back to us or bring them with you when you come to our office. We won’t waste your time by having you sit in our lobby filling out our forms when you can do them from the convenience of your home. 

Care

It’s ironic that primary care doctors often are perceived as not caring about their patients! That is not true here. When we say we care about you, we really mean it! We want the best for our patients and the treatments we recommend for you are the same ones we would recommend to our family members. 

Autonomy

Our office is committed to staying up to date with the best of medical research in conjunction with the time-tested methods of good health and wellbeing. We invite patients to do their own research and to discuss with us the results of their findings. We will make medical recommendations to you that we believe are in your best interests. We always participate in shared-decision making with patients and you will never be condescended to in our office. 

Fundamentals

Healthcare is not about taking fancy, expensive, and new medications that promise much but deliver little—rather, it is about focusing on timeless healthcare principles of prevention and lifestyle modification as first-line measures and employing more aggressive measures, such as medications, procedures, and surgeries when first-line methods fail.

About Dr. Gomer

Dr. Gomer completed his internal medicine residency training at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine, medical school at the University of Central Florida, College of Medicine, and a doctoral degree in philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Gomer specializes in adult primary care and is board-certified in Internal Medicine. He is also an adjunct professor at Loma Linda University and is the skilled nursing facility doctor for two medical groups in the area.