News & Announcements

Mar 5

The turnaround time for an insurance referral is 3-5 business days.

Oct 7

We are pleased to announce that Nicole Sibley, PA-C has rejoined the Premier Primary Care Physicians practice.

Nov 10

The CDC and FDA have granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for 5-11 year olds. We know many of you are anxiously awaiting vaccination for your children.

Premier Primary Care is pleased to be able to offer COVID vaccines for our patients ages 5 and up.

However, at this time, there is a limited supply of COVID vaccine for ages 5-11 available to our office. Because of that limitation, we are scheduling vaccination appointments at specific times, please call the office to schedule 703-243-1300. Also local health departments are offering mass vaccination clinics and vaccine appointments can be made at your local pharmacy.

Parents may use this site to sign up for COVID vaccination appointments through the VAMS site.

May 11

Our office has received the Covid-19 vaccine. We currently have a limited supply of Pfizer (ages 12 and up), Moderna and the Janssen (ages 18 and older) vaccine, and we are now scheduling appointments for any patients who would like to be immunized against Covid-19. Please give our office a call at 703-243-1300 to schedule your appointment.

Mar 19

Premier Primary Care Physicians continues to see patients in the office. We will operate in strict adherence of CDC and other industry guidelines.

1. All persons including staff and patients will be required to have a temperature check as they enter our office.
2.  As we are a healthcare setting, we require a mask be worn in our office at all times.
3.  If you are thinking about or are traveling away from your local community, please visit this site to help answer any questions or concerns regarding your travel and for information regarding what precautions to take while traveling. Travel testing can be done through county testing sites or through local pharmacies.

Dec 11

We are currently prioritizing who we test and are not able to test everyone who may be traveling at this time. Please note that we are following CDC guidelines and only testing for the recommended guidelines below. If you do get tested, you should self quarantine at home pending your test results and follow the advice of your doctor.
• People who have symptoms of COVID-19
• People who have had close contact (within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more) with someone with confirmed COVID-19.
• People who have taken part in activities that put them at higher risk for COVID-19 because they cannot socially distance as needed, such as travel, attending large social or mass gatherings, or being in crowded indoor settings.
• People who have been asked or referred to get testing by their healthcare provider, local or state health department.

*If you need testing for travel purposes, please refer to the Virginia Department of Health or Arlington Department of Health Websites.

Aug 31

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Andrea Schmieg and her team have joined our practice.

Dr. Schmieg is a graduate of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and completed a local residency program in Family Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University at Fairfax Family Practice. She has over 22 years of experience in Family Medicine and has been named Consumer Checbook’s Top Primary Care Doctors in the Metropolitan DC area. She was also listed in Arlington Magazine for Best Family Doctor of 2015.

Mar 21

Check your risk for COVID-19 by answering these questions:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/index.html

https://c19check.com/start

 

Other Resources for information include:

CDC  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Virginia Department of Health http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/ 

Arlington County Dept Health https://health.arlingtonva.us/covid-19-coronavirus-updates/

World Health Organization https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Mar 15

1. Tests for COVID-19 are in short supply and testing in our office is challenging due to the high transmissibility of illness. COVID-19 testing will not change the course of illness for most patients as there is no specific treatment for Coronavirus. Therefore, we are only testing our sickest patients at this time.
2. During an epidemic, all patients with respiratory or flu-like symptoms and presumed COVID-19 should self-quarantine to prevent additional transmission of infection. You can read more on the CDC page – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html  and                      Virginia Department of Health page – http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/
3. Stay at home except to get medical care – Do not go to work, school, or public areas. Avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing, or taxis. 
4. Separate yourself from other people and animals in your home
5. Wear a facemask (if available)
6. Cover your coughs and sneezes
7. Clean your hands often
8. Avoid sharing personal household items
9. Clean all “high-touch” surfaces everyday
10. Stay on home isolation- for 14 days or until cleared by your doctor.
11. Monitor patient symptoms- Seek prompt medical attention if your illness is worsening (e.g., difficulty breathing). Before seeking in-person care, call your healthcare provider and tell them that you have respiratory symptoms and possibly COVID-19.
12. If you have a medical emergency and need to call 911, notify the dispatch personnel that you have respiratory symptoms and possibly COVID-19. If possible, put on a facemask before emergency medical services arrive. 

Mar 12

We are doing our best to minimize exposure to our patients and the community. All patients who are sick or have questions MUST CALL the office to be evaluated on the phone before scheduling an appointment. Please DO NOT WALK IN. We are also scheduling a higher volume of Virtual Visits during this time. Less urgent appointments and wellness visits may be postponed depending on the need to open appointments for sick patients. Please minimize the number of people that accompany you to the office. For example, children with appointments should only come with one parent or caregiver, and parents with appointments should not bring children with them.

Please do not panic. The prevailing opinion is that while community spread is inevitable, most cases will be mild; the majority of COVID-19 infections do not require hospitalization. However, the risk of more severe infection does increase with age and among those with weakened immune systems.

We want to share the following important information with you.

Call your doctor to see if you should be tested for COVID-19 if:

You have symptoms that include shortness of breath, fever, cough and have had close contact with a COVID-19 patient or a history of travel from an affected geographic area in the past 14 days (both internationally and in the US).

You do not have symptoms, but you were in close contact with someone who has tested positive. We will advise you to self-quarantine but stay in communication with us regarding any symptoms.

You are over 65, have serious chronic medical conditions or a compromised immune system, and experience symptoms of respiratory infection, even if mild.

If you are currently a member of our practice, please call the office for instructions – PLEASE DO NOT WALK IN for an appointment if you are sick or have been potentially exposed! This is for the protection of all of our patients. Private practices, including ours, ARE NOT equipped to provide swab testing at this time.
Please note that not all people will or should be tested, as tests will be reserved for those deemed to be most at risk for having contracted the virus.

Updated recommendations include:

Practice social distancing: Avoid activities where you have a lot of exposure to the general public. Pregnant women, elderly individuals and those with underlying health conditions who are at most risk for developing serious effects from the virus should stay away from mass gatherings.

Senior travel advisory: High-risk seniors – individuals over age 60 who have chronic lung, heart or kidney conditions, those with diabetes, those using chronic immunosuppressants or on chemotherapy – should avoid travel and stay home whenever possible.

Prepare yourself: Have groceries, household items, over-the-counter medicines and supplies like tissues on hand so you will be able to stay at home for a period of time if needed. Most people will be able to recover from COVID-19 at home. Although we should prepare to isolate for 14 days, stockpiling supplies is not recommended as it takes away from those in need of supplies and can’t travel.

Treatment: Treatment consists of isolation and supportive care to relieve symptoms. There are currently no antiviral medications that have been proven to be effective.

Prevention: There is no vaccine yet available for COVID-19, so the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus. Most essential is to stay healthy by getting your flu shot if you haven’t already done so, and take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs, including:

Stay home when sick.If you have a fever, mild cough or other mild symptoms of respiratory infection, self-quarantine in your home, and use over-the-counter medications to treat.

Wash hands with soap and water. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Please do not purchase facemasks to protect yourself. Facemasks are in short supply now, and should be used only by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 and by health workers and others who are caring for COVID-19 patients.

For regular updates on the status of our office, please continue to check our website. You can read more about COVID-19 at trusted sites including CDC CDC COVID and Virginia Department of Health VA Dept Health COVID

Let’s continue to be vigilant and look out for one another. We will get through this together.