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Mind, Body, and Spirit the connection is powerful Dr. John R. Diggs, Jr. takes a holistic approach to primary care, addressing the patient’s physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. “These different aspects of our selves do not operate in isolation,” he says.
ers. Diggs has two exceptions to treating people in his office who are not members: He treats those with COVID-19 active infection and long-hauler issues, and he performs a specific nerve block to relieve headaches for people with migraines, cluster headaches or trigeminal
is here to serve. Having insurance is super-expensive when considering how much it cost and how little individual attention one gets. We all know the complaints – can’t get through on the phone, rushed appointments.” The doctor specializes in internal medicine, treating people from age 17 on with
screening exams,” he says, emphasizing that as people age, preventive care becomes more important. “This is simply due to the universal propensity for things and people to fall apart with the passage of time. Prevention of all disease is an unachievable ideal. And yet, as physicians we encourage prevention for
coercion.” Dr. Diggs graduated from University of Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1983. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he treated people with the illness. Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and additional nutritional supplements is widespread and has been
By Cori Urban
Special To The Republican
The mind-body-spirit connection is powerful, and, for example, Dr. John Diggs has observed one’s emotions cause a heart attack. “It is clear that each aspect of our selves influences other aspects. It is no secret that one’s mind can impact the state of one’s body and vice versa,” he says. “I also know that I am not smart enough to know what is in someone’s mind. I dare say that at times we scarcely know what is in our own minds. Nevertheless, sometimes calling attention to these connections enables patients to make appropriate adjustments.” Modern society too often looks for solutions to come in a pill or a shot. “Patients benefit from recognizing that like a spider’s web, pulling on one part affects other parts. The answer is frequently not in a pill but in a change of lifestyle,” said the solo doctor at John Diggs MD, LLC at 2030 Boston Road, Suite 2, Wilbraham. Diggs operates his practice on a membership model: The annual fee covers all activities that take place in the office and all telephone calls, emails and tele-visits, seven days a week. There are no co-pays or other fees even for procedures. “I do my best to lower the barriers between patients and medical care,” he says. He plans to limit the membership at 300-400 subscrib-
Left: Dr. John Diggs, MD. Right: Dr. John Diggs, MD examines patient Louis Tulik. (PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)
neuralgia. For 12 months the individual membership is $2,400 for the first person and $2,000 for the second person in the same family. Insurance is still used for other doctors, medications and hospitalization. It can also be for labs and imaging. “Direct Primary Care is not the cheapest care, but it is the best, in my opinion, because the patient is in charge of their body,” says Diggs, who worked in primary care with Wing Memorial Hospital in Monson for 15 years before opening his own solo private practice last year. “The doctor
multi-system complex disease and relatively simple complaints. These are usually the doctors of first contact for general health issues, treating patients directly or referring them to specialists when appropriate. “We tend to have long-term relationships with patients getting to know their preferences and concerns on a personal basis,” Diggs says. Exams that are considered “routine” vary with the patient’s sex, age and past medical history. “Periodic full physical exams should be done along with select immunizations and health
those things for which we have knowledge.” The most frequent problems he encounters in his office include high blood pressure, anxiety, diabetes and obesity. “The impact of obesity on one’s overall health is generally under- appreciated,” he says. “Because Direct Primary Care prioritizes the doctor-patient relationship, we alleviate many of the anxieties associated with doctor visits. For example, my office is beautiful and comfortable. I am not under corporate time pressure. I treat the patient as the boss of their body – no
published in journals worldwide including the American Journal of Medicine, he explains. “However, because they have not been promoted by public health institutions like the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), American physicians have been slow on the utilization of these treatments. The process includes assessing the stages of illness, co-morbidities and applying the interventions that match.” As of mid-July he had treated about 20 COVID patients, many of whom had been told by their doctor that there
was no treatment short of hospitalization. “Fortunately, the demand for such treatment has dropped. However, inquiries regarding so-called ‘long-haulers’ have risen since some people are still having side effects from their original infections. These interventions are possible but are generally less satisfactory.” The best prevention is to optimize the activity of one’s immune system, Diggs advises. “It protects us from all sorts of infectious agents.” The management of the pandemic has been “the most bizarre episode in my career,” he says. “Effective treatments have been suppressed and censored. Dissent from a narrow ‘company line’ has been suppressed. Political interests have interfered in the doctor-patient relationship in ways I have never seen before. Early care and self-care have been dismissed. The costs, in terms of avoidable lost life and misery, have been enormous. There are many practices individuals could have done to minimize the impact of infection without a doctor’s help.” He mentions such things as weight loss, vitamin D and zinc supplementation and improving ventilation. “Instead, public health emphasized universal mask wearing, an intervention which cannot endure scientific scrutiny. He adds that enough people have immunity from recovering from infection or from vaccination that there will be isolated infections now but not massive spread. “The primary lesson is to recognize that good general habits are preparation for training our bodies to survive infections,” he says.
For more information, call 413-300-2233 or go online to JohnDiggsMD.com