Vital Signs SPRING 2015 | VOLUME 66 Zipnosis: Online Care in Minutes In This Issue 2 What’s New at UCLA 3 In Your Community UCLA offers services and support near you. 4 Post-Heart-Surgery Monitoring Teleconferencing technology enables improved follow-up to check on recovery. Medical concerns can arise anytime, and access to a healthcare professional is important. To address these concerns, UCLA Health offers a new service: Zipnosis. Zipnosis is a benefit for current UCLA patients. For a small fee, it provides online diagnosis and treatment service by UCLA physicians for common medical conditions, seven days a week, from 8 am to 8 pm. Ask questions about your illness and get a response from a UCLA physician in less than an hour. Zipnosis is easily accessible to UCLA patients with a web-enabled device. For more information, go to: uclahealth.org/zipnosis 6 Two-Pronged Therapy for MS Clinical trial shows combining the female hormone estriol with standard medication reduces relapse and improves cognition. Same-Day Appointments Available 7 Measles Outbreak UCLA Health offers same-day appointments in 27 specialties. In most cases, depending on the level of care you need and the time of day when you call, you’ll be seen by a physician that day. Calls before noon will be offered same-day appointments; calls after noon will be offered next-day appointments. Measles poses risk to the unimmunized as well as babies and toddlers who have not yet completed vaccination, pregnant women, and children and adults with compromised immunity. 8 Q&A: Proper Diabetes Care To make a same-day appointment, call 1-800-UCLA-MD1 Successful diabetes management goes well beyond what takes place in the doctor’s office; patients’ diet, exercise and self-monitoring are critical to their health. For more information, go to: uclahealth.org/sameday 10 New Narcotic Guideline Revised federal prescribing rules are an important step toward curbing the overuse and abuse of common narcotic. 11 Mesothelioma Treatment Options Lung-sparing surgery and innovative approach to follow-up care improves longevity and quality of life for patients. 12 Community Calendar Health and wellness for the community. Learn Like a Doctor at Mini Med School This three-evening series covers the basics of medical science and advances in the biomedical and clinical sciences. Participants receive an introduction to basic science and the innovative changes in how we confront medicine, disease, health and aging. May 6 Otolaryngology May 13 The Brain May 20 Ophthalmology Where: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Tamkin Auditorium 757 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095 Time: 6:30 pm – 8 pm / Cost: $35 For more information and to sign up, go to: uclahealth.org/minimedschool UCLAHEALTH.ORG 1-800-UCLA-MD1 (1-800-825-2631)