About Us
Dr Michael Mikola is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician with over 25 years of clinical practice experience. During this time, he has been providing medical care to patients in an office setting, inpatient hospital setting, and clinical research studies. After graduating from The College of Charleston with a degree in Psychology, he attended The Medical University of South Carolina, graduating in 1991. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine, also at M.U.S.C., and entered private practice in 1994.
His approach to medical therapies focuses on prevention and early detection of disease. Patient education and participation is a key component of this collaborative approach. Dr. Mikola strives to partner with his patients to implement healthy lifestyle decisions through an individualized health plan with focus on physical as well as psychological well- being. In some cases, adjunctive medical therapies may be recommended when genetic predisposition combined with other factors limit the efficacy of lifestyle modifications.
Advances in technology and improved understanding of the complex interplay between environmental and genetic factors gives us unprecedented opportunities for prevention, early detection, and modification of the course of many diseases. Common cancers, vascular, and metabolic disorders which once lead to shortened lifespan and significant morbidity are becoming increasingly manageable.
Primary care physicians typically see 15-25 patients daily in today’s fast paced, time restricted, traditional practice atmosphere. An increasing burden of insurance company and government payor requirements further interferes with the patient-physician visit, leaving many patients disappointed with the quality of the doctor-patient encounters. Dr. Mikola intentionally limits the patient enrollment in Carolina Preventive Medicine to specifically protect against this type of hurried patient care. In a typical day, no more than 6-8 patients will have appointments, leaving ample time for questions, discussion of options, potential benefits and disadvantages of tests and therapies. In addition, Dr Mikola also emphasizes availability to patients in the event of a change in their health status via phone call, text, email, and when appropriate, “work in” appointments.
Carolina Preventive Medicine is a low volume practice with emphasis on the quality of the relationship between an individual and his or her doctor, the quality of medical care provided, availability when needed, and restoring the trust and open communication that has become uncommon in today’s fast paced world of primary care.
