About N.E.W.S.

N.E.W.S. History:

N.E.W.S. was an independent medical office that was established in April 1993 by Dr. Elizabeth L Schultz and joined by Dr. Kirk A Melville in April of 1998. N.E.W.S. Blends together Allopathic, Osteopathic, and Functional Medicine into their own brand of Biological Systems Medicine. N.E.W.S. Emphasizes Preventative Optimal Aging Health combined with routine Health Care Maintenance Exams. Even though N.E.W.S. cares for illness within the traditional medical model, they prefer to offer Preventative Health Medicine solutions in order to help their patients maintain a healthy life.

N.E.W.S. Accomplishments:

• 1993 - Started offering Bio-identical HRT and Hormone Pellets.
• 1993 - First medical entity, this includes hospitals, in Northeast Georgia to offer In-Office Bone Mineral Density testing. Way before Fosamax, so growing bone naturally was the only modality we had!
• 1996 - Dr. Schultz routinely offered ThinPrep Pap Smears, HPV and Genotyping. Back then, insurance companies refused coverage for such “experimental lab testing”. Today it’s preferred!
• 1998 - We established our web presence by starting "www.noaw.com".
• 1999 - NEWS realized our concept of "Wellness Medicine" was reflected in Functional-Molecular Medicine for which they trained and have practiced since.
• 2000 - Started offering Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Men: it being a natural off shoot of Women's Hormone Pellet Therapy. When women feel better their men should too!
• 2001 - Routinely added Vitamin D replacement which was well before the medical world caught on in 2010.
• 2001 - Began offering Breast Thermology as an adjunct to Breast Imaging Techniques.
• 2003 - Started offering Genetic Testing for Osteoporosis, Cardio-Vascular disease, Inflammation.
• 2005 - Started our EMR-Electronic Medical Record System.
• 2009 - Advanced Cardio-Lipid Testing for Cardiovascular Health became our signature of Personalized Medicine. We felt you shouldn't have to go to University settings for this important testing; so we brought it to you, right here in Watkinsville, Georgia. Right now, not 5 to 10 years into the future when your insurance company says you can do it
• 2010 - Started offering Testosterone Pellet Therapy for Breast Cancer Patients.
• 2011 - Met “Meaningful Use” criteria for the federal government. [This in no way means they have access to your medical health records, it means we are working toward making this information more functional for you.]
• 2012 - Added Genetic Testing with AssureRx for Depression, ADHD and analgesics. Why guess what will work? It’s better to know.
• 2013 - Added a HIPAA compliant “Portal” to communicate with us at NEWS. [ Updox ]
• 2014 - Added Genetic CYP450 Testing for drug to drug interactions. So that multiple drug usage in a patient is not conflicted, decreasing efficacy
• 2015 - This was a maintenance year because my mother who had been living with us for 6 years passed away from Dementia.
• 2016 - Attended the Bale/Doneen-Heart Attack & Stroke Prevention Seminar and started offering Carotid Intimal Thickness Testing.
• 2017 - Had to change EMR vendors due to our initial vendor closing it's digital doors! What an experience.
• 2018 - After 25 years of doing our own Bone Densities, we faced a big repair cost to the machine, so we stopped and out sourced the testing.
• 2019 - Added 4Kscore testing for men facing the possibility of a prostate biopsy.
• 2020 - Quickly converted our office into a TeleMedicine strong-hold as the COVID Pandemic spread across our nation. We had been waiting for TeleMedicine to be paid for by insurance vendors since 2015 and embraced it with open arms.
• 2021 - Being faced with millennial work ethics, Dr. Melville's health issues, dwindling payments for health care, and our community becoming more urbanized, we decided to retire and move to a community more rural.