Dr. Satodiya Of Apex Internal Medicine Specializes In Older Patients

By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN Correspondent

Less than five months ago, Mukesh Satodiya, M.D., made the leap from doctor in a corporate practice to business owner, now serving his neighbors in the community where he lives.

Dr. Satodiya opened Apex Internal Medicine of Tampa, located in the Cory Lake Professional Center, on Cross Creek Blvd. (2-3 miles south of Wesley Chapel), in July.

“I live in New Tampa, so I thought I would love to work nearby,” he says. “It’s close to home and allows me to serve the nearby community.”

Dr. Satodiya and his wife have three kids, including a 15-year-old daughter, and twins (a son and daughter) who are 10. As they are raising their family in New Tampa — enjoying some of their favorite activities, such as riding bikes through their neighborhood. Dr. Satodiya’s desire has been to work closer to home and serve his neighbors.

He is Board-certified in internal medicine and has been practicing for more than 15 years, including experience working for both corporate practices and in a hospital environment.

He grew up in India and earned a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Sur- gery (MBBS) degree from B. J. Medical College in Ahmedabad in 1999. He then moved to the United States and completed his residency training in internal medicine at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, NJ, in 2007.

Apex Internal Medicine is a primary care practice, focused on meeting the needs of adults. The practice sees anyone ages 18 and older, from young adults to the elderly.

“We offer all routine primary care services,” explains Dr. Satodiya. That may include annual physicals, care for diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, thyroid disease, asthma, allergies, chronic lung illnesses like COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and minor infections.

Dr. Satodiya is especially experienced in meeting the needs of older people and often sees Medicare patients.

“Our office is more focused on personalized care,” he says. “I’m the only physician, so if you need anything, you see me. It’s not like a corporate clinic where, sometimes, you can’t see your own doctor because they are too busy.”

In fact, he says, for illnesses or even routine care, you can often be seen the same day or the next day after you call.

“You’re not waiting for weeks to see the doctor,” he says.

Dr. Satodiya says that anyone who comes to Apex Internal Medicine will see how he and his staff take time with each of their patients, focusing on meeting the complex needs of those who may come in for one problem, but who may have underlying issues that are all related and need to be addressed.

“Older people have different needs,” he says. “Their care is sometimes more delicate because of (having) multiple medical problems.”

Dr. Satodiya understands that Medicare is complicated and some patients may have recently switched to a new plan, whether that’s Medicare or Medicare Advantage.

The Apex office staff can help you understand your benefits, and will explain those benefits prior to the appointment. He says that if any concerns arise, his staff can often contact your insurance company on your behalf and help work out any billing issues.

Dr. Satodiya says he and his staff also help connect patients to resources they may have available to them through their Medicare plan, or through the county in which they live.

“For example, if an elderly person doesn’t drive and needs transportation, there are resources available,” he says, “so we connect them with those resources, as much as we can.”

Bhupendra Patel and his wife moved to Arbor Greene six months, ago after living the last 50 years in Connecticut. Bhupendra was looking for a primary care doctor when he noticed the Apex office next to a pizza place he was visiting.

With its extremely convenient location, he decided to give Apex a try.

“I have had four appointments now,” he says, “and each one has been outstanding.”

Bhupendra says Dr. Satodiya is careful and meticulous, answering all of his questions, and that he is always on time. He says the doctor reminds him of his brother, a recently retired surgeon.

While he considers himself more of a “fast mover,” Bhupendra says he likes that the doctor helps him to slow down and listen to his careful explanations.

“I’m very happy with his approach,” he says. “When my lab results came in, he called me personally to explain the test results and what each one meant. I would recommend him to anyone else in the area who is looking for a physician.”

For patients who have issues with transportation or an illness that prevents them from coming into the office in person, Dr. Satodiya also offers telemedicine appointments, if the patient prefers that.

And, he says, it’s important that people take advantage of the benefits they have from their insurance, as most offer an annual preventive care visit at little or no cost.

That preventive care includes lab work, cancer screenings, vaccinations and helping people avoid problems before they become more serious.

“We go over every year what needs to be done,” he says, “and remind them again of screenings that maybe they missed last year, such as a mammogram or other cancer screening, or a colonoscopy.”

Over the last couple of years, because of Covid-19, Dr. Satodiya says many people unfortunately have gotten away from their routine care. That means they may not even know they have hypertension, cholesterol or diabetes.

He says he and his staff are seeing patients who have these issues, but don’t know it, because they don’t feel any symptoms. But, if you wait until you have symptoms, you will likely have already suffered damage to your heart, kidneys or eyesight, for example.

However, he explains, if you happen to have pre-diabetes or borderline hypertension, you may be able to make changes to your diet or lifestyle to help prevent long-term damage.

“The key is to catch it early,” he says. That’s what Dr. Satodiya and his staff at Apex Internal Medicine will help you do if you make an appointment to join this growing practice.

Apex Internal Medicine of Tampa is located at 10353 Cross Creek Blvd., Suite D, in the Cory Lake Professional Center. It is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed for lunch from noon-1 p.m.), and evening appointments are available. To make an appointment or for more information, call (813) 725-4983, visit ApexIMT.com, or see the ad on page 31 of this issue.