Hightstown Medical Associates

CARING, COMPASSIONATE, COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL CARE CLOSE TO HOME

Serving the communities of East and West Windsor, Hightstown, Plainsboro, Cranbury,
Robbinsville, Hamilton, Hamilton Square, Monroe, Princeton and Lawrenceville for more than 40 years

Julius S. Richter, MD, FACP   •   James A. Robin, MD   •   Hank R. Lubin, MD
Ginger Azarchi, MSN, NP-BC   •   Elizabeth (Betty) Teixeira, DrNP, NP-BC, CDE
Valerie A. Layne, DNP, NP-BC   •  Nicole A. Fyfe, MA, NP-BC, OCN

Welcome to the website for Hightstown Medical Associates, a primary care internal medicine practice. The physicians of Hightstown Medical Associates are all board certified internists, specialists in the care of adult patients. We care for patients from age 18 through adulthood. When medical conditions outside of our specialty arise (such as pregnancy or the need for surgery), we coordinate care with these specialists to assure that our patients' needs are met. To learn more about internists, click here. To learn more about us, browse through the links on the left or visit our office (directions are on the Travel Directions Page). Welcome!

URGENT: Medicare Pay Cuts Planned Again!

We would like to thank all of you who helped avert the draconian Medicare pay cuts in the past. But once again, drastic reductions in Medicare Physician Fees are scheduled for January 1, 2012. This year, they are planning to cut the fees by 27.5%! Many of the commercial insurers base their fees on the Medicare rates, so a cut could affect ALL patients. You can read more here, including simple steps you can take to help prevent this and preserve the quality of the care you receive. Please contact all of your elected officials ASAP. Tell them that these cuts imperil our ability to continue to care for Medicare patients. Specifically mention that your 7 provider practice may be forced to withdraw from Medicare if these cuts are enacted (though in fact we have NOT made any decision to do so - the threat is what matters at this point). Thank you for your help in this important matter.

Horizon Blue Cross Contract

Update 1/15/2011: Nine years after we left the Blue Cross network, and two years after again resuming contract negotiations, we have a deal! We are back in the Blue Cross network as of January 15, 2011. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Influenza Vaccine -- It's Not Too Late!

Influenza season is fast approaching! We have abundant vaccine supply on hand. Learn more about the flu on the CDC website. This is the peak season to receive your flu vaccine. (See current flu activity.) This year's vaccine includes the H1N1 strain, so you only need one shot. If you would like to receive a vaccine, just give us a call.

Electronic Medical Records come to HMA As of early June, we have moved into the clinical phase of our new EMR implementation. Once we are fully up to speed, this will be a great enhancement to our ability to provide first class care. But until then, please excuse the delays as we scale the learning curve of this new technology. Look for the coming of the Aprima Patient Portal, which will allow you more functionality than possible with our current portal. And, later this year, the upgraded Aprima Patient Portal will allow you to view your lab results, view your chart contents and, eventually, complete online the many forms we use. If you would like to find out more about our system, you can visit the Aprima website.

Now Open: Secure Patient Portals
The fully HIPAA compliant, secure Patient Portals are now open. Through this interface, you can securely send us contact forms, read replies and messages from us, and submit refill and referral requests. The Aprima portal interfaces directly with out Electronic Medical Record system, so you can view your lab results and chart notes. Talk to our staff or click the Patient Portal link on the left for more information.

Betty Teixeira earns her Doctorate in Nursing Practice Please join us in congratulating Betty for her years of hard work, culminating with her receiving the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DrNP) degree from Drexel University. This is the highest level of training for Nurse Practitioners. Betty joins Valerie in holding this advanced distinction. We commend her efforts and are proud to work with her.

Patient Satisfaction Survey
Please help us improve our service by completing the NEW Patient Satisfaction Survey. Answer as many questions as are relevant, but please, only one survey per contact with our office. All information is stored with no patient identifying data and all results are reported in aggregate only.

Medical News (Updated continually)

HMA News

Medical Calculators

Disease of the Month

Please browse the topics to the left to learn more about us. If you have questions which remain unanswered, please call or fax us, or use the contact form to reach us. This website, like most, is an ongoing project. We constantly add to and update the information here. If there is something which you would like to see here, please let us know.

We are also considering beginning to use e-mail to stay in touch with our patients. If you would like to be added to our email list, please click here and complete the form.

Throughout this site, there are links to documents in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). They are marked by the following symbol: . You need Adobe Acrobat Reader (a browser add-in) to access them. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can get it, free, by clicking this logo. Complete Steps 1 and 2 on the form and submit it. Be patient while it downloads. Then run the program you just downloaded and it will install itself automatically. By the way, the current version of Acrobat Reader is 10. If you have an older version, why not upgrade!

The menu popups on this site are produced by OverLIB. This excellent freeware product can be obtained by clicking on the graphic to the left.

This site is hosted by 1&1. We have been very happy with their products and service. If you are interested in creating your own website, or hosting for others, click the logo for details.

This site is intended for the patients of Hightstown Medical Associates. It provides medical information of a general nature and is not intended and should not be used to diagnose any illness or treat any condition. If you are not a patient or prospective patient of Hightstown Medical Associates, then please leave this site immediately. If you have any symptoms which you believe might be indicative of a medical condition, please contact your physician immediately.

Site Created: 1/1/2000; Last Updated: