Plum Health Blog
Coronavirus and Misleading Headlines for April 7th 2021
I've been reading too many misleading headlines in the Detroit Media landscape recently and I'm frustrated by this misinformation.
Media companies can present information in certain ways, and the way that this information is presented makes a difference for public perceptions, especially around coronavirus vaccine efficacy.
The headline I'm talking about is this one that I saw circulated on several news media outlets: "246 fully vaccinated Michiganders got COVID-19 between January and March, state reports"
This information is true, but it misleads the public into thinking that the coronavirus vaccines are not safe and effective.
The media organizations neglected the greater context in their initial reporting, failing to state clearly that 1,700,000 Michigan residents have been vaccinated and only 246 of those have become ill with Covid-19.
If I were to re-write this headline, it would say: "99.99% of vaccine recipients in Michigan have not become ill with Covid-19"
This speaks clearly to the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
Additionally, some media outlets also reported that 3 fully vaccinated Michiganders have died after being fully vaccinated.
This is true, but again misleading.
When taken in the greater context of 1,700,000 (or 1.7 million) fully vaccinated Michiganders, that means that only 0.00017% of those fully vaccinated Michiganders have died from coronavirus.
That means that 99.9999% of those who have achieved full vaccination have NOT died from the coronavirus.
Further, these media organizations did not fully discuss the cases and left out pertinent details.
I would like to know, and these media outlets should report:
- How old were the people who got sick?
- Did these people have pre-existing conditions?
- Were these people taking medications that would suppress an immune response, like steroids or drugs for auto-immune conditions?
- Did these patients have HIV/AIDS or another condition that suppresses normal immune functioning?
- Did these patients die from COVID or were their deaths due to another cause, such as heart attacks, strokes, etc…?
My biggest fear is that people who are opposed to vaccinations will use these misleading headlines as "evidence" that the vaccines don't work, when, in fact, these vaccines are safe and effective.
Thanks for reading, and reach out to your City or County health department to get the vaccine.
If you live in the City of Detroit:
- Call: 313-230-0505
- Monday-Friday from 9 am until 6 pm.
- Any resident of the City of Detroit who is age 16+.
- Any person who works in the City of Detroit whose job requires them to work from their job site.
- There will be no cost to individuals for the COVID-19 vaccination.
Thanks again,
- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Plum Health DPC Featured in Start Up TV Show on PBS This Fall
Exciting news! We’re going to be on a TV 📺 show called @startuptvshow on @pbs this fall 🍁 🍁 Our episode airs November 8th at 1:30 pm 🙌🏼 🙌🏼
Here’s what they said:
“😱 🤯 What if we told you that there is a direct primary care physician 👨⚕️ in Detroit that does house calls and offers books 📚 about how to start your own practice?
Awesome, right? You will learn more about Plum Health and their desire to provide affordable and accessible health care 💉 💊 🥼 on this season of START UP, premiering October 18th!”
Tune in every Sunday, as the show will be featuring some amazing business in Detroit 💯
Filming this episode was a multi-day process at our office in Corktown Detroit. We got to work with a very talented film crew with an amazing creative vision. The crew put a ton of effort and energy into the filming process and we hope that energy will be reflected in the final product.
This is our first time being featured for an extended interview, so there was a lengthy sit-down interview process and a great deal of B-roll footage, from us performing physical exam maneuvers on our patients in our office, to us counting out meds, and even a scene of Dr. Paul Thomas on a bicycle!
The episode will air on November 8th at 1:30 pm Eastern Time, so mark your calendars!
If you’d like to become a member of Plum Health, you can sign up here:
Thanks for reading and setting your DVRs!
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
More about the Start Up TV Show
Crain’s Detroit Business did a nice write up on the show, and described it as follows:
"Start Up," in its eighth season, gives viewers a look inside the world of the American entrepreneur. This season, with the first episode set to air at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 18, will feature 13 entrepreneurs — 12 of them based in Michigan. The season, according to show creator Gary Bredow, will center on how small-business owners and entrepreneurs have adapted to and navigated their way through what has been a turbulent 2020. The show will air on more than 350 PBS stations nationwide.
Start up season 8 teaser trailer
The Start Up crew put together a fantastic teaser trailer for Season 8, and you can see that teaser here:
Plum Health DPC Mentioned in Business Insider
This week, I was delighted to see Plum Health DPC mentioned in two different publications. The first was an excellent, comprehensive piece on Direct Primary Care in Business Insider by Lydia Ramsey.
Ms. Ramsey and I have spoken over the phone about the Direct Primary Care movement, and she asked several insightful questions about our practice in Detroit, Michigan. She has spoken with roughly 16 other DPC doctors and synthesized a great summary of the movement in her article.
I loved the chart she used to compare and contrast traditional Fee-For-Service medicine with Direct Primary Care services:
Next up, we were mentioned in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel article on Direct Primary Care written by Ron Hurtibise. The article discusses Direct Primary Care and the efforts in the Florida Legislature to make DPC 'legal' in that state.
Fortunately, in Michigan, Direct Primary Care has been 'legalized' via the efforts of State Senator Patrick Colbeck and his Senate Bill No. 1033. I have placed legal and legalized in quotations above because practicing Direct Primary Care or retainer-based medicine is not illegal, but having laws on the books like Senate Bill No. 1033 in Michigan and the proposed HB 37 in Florida removes any potential legal challenges and allows doctors who want to practice DPC medicine a clear path.
And we need more doctors having a clear path to the type of medical practice that they can enjoy and sustain for the long term. We need more doctors practicing primary care medicine. One of the arguments against DPC is that the panel size is smaller in the typical DPC practice as compared to the traditional Fee-for-Service practice. In the Sun-Sentinel article, a part of my LinkedIn article was quoted:
"As to the charge that Direct Primary Care contributes to the shortage of primary care doctors, Paul Thomas, a doctor with Plum Health DPC, wrote in an essay published on LinkedIn.com last year that the model might actually encourage more medical students to become primary care doctors, rather than pursue higher-paying specialty fields.
"A Direct Primary Care practice with 500 members can provide a primary care provider with more income than some earn with 3,500 patients at a fee-for-service practice, Thomas wrote. And the increased time for personal interaction eliminates “role strain” and allows the provider to address patients as whole people, he said.
I believe that Direct Primary Care practices provide physicians and patients with a better primary care experience, and will allow doctors to practice for longer periods of time without retiring early or leaving the field completely because of burnout. I'm happy to see the DPC movement spreading across the country, and I'm happy to be quoted in these two publications.
Thanks for reading!
- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Detroit Businesses are Humming in the Motor City, via Inc.com
This week, Inc.com released a video in collaboration with Fiverr. It featured Detroit businesses, including Shinola, Excelerate America, and Plum Health DPC! They had this to say about the video:
Detroit's entrepreneurial scene is exploding with companies who are growing for good. Which is why this rejuvenating city was the perfect stop on our Doers Across America tour. The energy, vibrancy, and warmth was always present when meeting the incredible Detroit entrepreneurial community. There was so much to celebrate and learn from these resilient doers, and by the end of our time there, it was clear why Detroit is the embodiment of the “comeback kid.”
You can find the full video, here, or in the YouTube link below:
Yes! Detroit's entrepreneurial scene is thriving and I was happy to be a part of this feature! The crew did a marvelous job filming and editing this piece on a tight time schedule - they brought a high degree of professionalism and the video is informative and interesting.
It's an exciting time to be an entrepreneur in Detroit - there is indeed a ton of energy, excitement and attention paid to this community of growing businesses. However, I would like to acknowledge all of those that make up the Detroit small business ecosystem that weren't featured in this video. I know that I would not be successful were it not for the thriving scene that I have immersed myself in.
I'm hinting at a greater point here, which is best illustrated in an article by Ron Fournier, published in Crain's Detroit Business from October 2017: "Amid Detroit's post-bankruptcy resurgence, the money and attention heaped upon startups in downtown and Midtown threatens to overshadow long-running businesses in Detroit's neighborhoods. That startups are often run by young, white Detroit transplants arriving at the crest of an economic wave and "been-ups" are often owned by minorities who struggled through the worst of times feeds a "two-Detroits" narrative."
So, to all of those 'start-ups' and 'been-ups' in the community, thank you! Let's keep working together to make Detroit beautiful and prosperous!
- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
One of the screen shots from the Inc.com and Fiverr video featuring Plum Health DPC
Another still shot from the Fiverr and Inc.com collaboration video!