Each day millions of Americans deal with some type of breathing problem, whether it's COPD or Asthma.
Many are forced to wait in long lines at ER's and hospitals.
That may change as a local doctor's vision to open a clinic just for those patients struggling to breathe is changing healthcare.
Respicare, a clinic which opened here in Tulsa, is the first of it's kind in the nation.
Their goal is to provide those struggling with breathing problems, easy access to care. This model, is now going to be used to open others across the nation.
Judy Peterson has dealth with asthma for years, and says she's now been able to avoid emergency room visits since the clinic's opening.
Peterson tells us, "I run in here if I feel like something's coming on because well I just know how to treat it and they know how to treat me. It's very simple."
Dr. Mark Boomer opened Respicare earlier this year, he says he's noticed a rise in his patients who have COPD.
COPD is now the number three killer in the United States.
Respicare teamed up with HGE Health, a company devoted to helping COPD and other respiratory patients control their symptoms, to provide care to patients who live in more rural areas.
Michael Markus, the CEO for HGE Health, tells us, "Patients with moderate and severe COPD, they're symptomatic everyday. As their disease progresses, it's hard to understand whether today's symptoms are different than yesterday or last week."
HGE has a moble app that allows patients to input their symptoms and when there's a significant change, their physician is alerted.
Boomer says for the millions who are fighting for breath, they shouldn't ever have to wait to see a doctor.
"The longer you wait the sicker you get, the harder it is to turn around", Boomer says, “the whole process of constantly being at risk for shortness of breath or being short of breath is anxiety provoking.”
Plans to open clinics in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey are in the works, as well as several other locations in Oklahoma.
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