Helping you manage your condition and stay as healthy as possible

If you have a chronic condition, you’re not alone: 60% of American adults have a chronic disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control .

To manage these conditions, people often need to see their doctor frequently and make lifestyle changes like switching to a healthy diet, exercising, or quitting smoking. Caring doctors can make all the difference when you’re doing your best to follow their guidance.

For more than 30 years, Carelon Health has been providing compassionate, hands-on care for our patients. Our care teams address your symptoms and help you make healthy choices for improved well-being. And often, you get all those services in one convenient location at one of our care centers.

Whether you're making a quick trip to your mailbox or taking walks to keep your diabetes in check, we offer a care plan tailored to your life.

• Some of our patients rely on Advanced Primary Care for things like regular checkups, flu shots, and wellness coaching.
• For patients who’ve been recently diagnosed with a chronic or complex condition, we help them manage their care and understand their options.
• For those who’ve been dealing with chronic and complex conditions for a long time, we help them manage their unique symptoms and challenges. We want to make it easy for them to get the care they need.

In all cases, Carelon Health goes beyond the quick in-and-out model of most primary care doctors. We take a deep, holistic look at all the factors affecting our patients’ health.

“We want to provide the right care, at the right time, in the right setting,” said Paul Mikulecky, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Carelon Health. “We help patients with complex and chronic conditions understand their disease and manage it so they can feel empowered.”

Rostam Khoubyari, MD, works with heart disease patients in the Los Angeles area. He said he often talks to other Carelon Health care team members to make sure a patient’s needs are being met. It’s a whole-health approach to care that addresses people’s physical, behavioral, and Social Drivers of Health.

“Perhaps a patient comes to me with a complaint of chest pain. Then I realize they have high blood pressure, diabetes, or problems with alcohol or depression,” Dr. Khoubyari said. “I can get that patient set up with behavioral health specialists and nutritionists.”

Maybe the patient's problem is more of a balance issue,” Dr. Khoubyari said. “We have Nifty after Fifty® by Encore Wellness™, a fitness program that we provide to our Medicare Advantage patients along with physical therapy.”

“It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of treatment options for each person”, Dr. Khoubyari said.

“In my field, it’s easy to just do invasive procedures, which are often very effective,” he said. “But when it comes to the elderly or frail population, we have to look at the bigger picture. We need to balance the benefits and risks for each person.”

“Diet and lifestyle can be just as important as taking medications and undergoing procedures”, Dr. Khoubyari said. “I don’t prescribe medication unless it’s absolutely necessary,” he said. “I believe that if I can help my patients have a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle, like exercising or losing weight, that's the medication.”

“When patients do need medication, they get help to make sure they’re taking the right drugs that work well together — and taking them properly. We have a very good team of pharmacists who help our patients manage their medications,” Dr. Khoubyari said. “They set up a time with the patient, go over their medications, and tell them what each medication is for. If there is any medication that is a mistake or unnecessary, they get rid of it.”

Holistic care means not only treating the whole person but doing so in a way that makes sense and is sustainable for them. That might mean in-person appointments, virtual visits, and even in-home visits from a mobile team.

Patients receive devices tailored to their condition or health goal. Patients at risk of high blood pressure may receive a blood pressure cuff that sends blood pressure readings to the care team so they can ensure the readings are in the normal range. If they aren’t, the team can respond quickly and effectively.

Some patients also get scales with remote monitoring technologies so the team can track any changes in their weight. “Each day when they weigh themselves, the information is sent to a team of nurses,” Dr. Khoubyari said. “If the patient starts retaining water and gaining weight, the nurses will call the patient to find out if they need to have their medication changed or come into the care center.”