Primary Care Physicians - What Is the Role of the Primary Care Doctor?
Ever heard of primary care physicians? Family doctors have become a thing of the past. They were greatly relied upon for all health related issues. Your family doctor would be the person you would call to set a broken bone, assist in childbirth or prescribe medication for illnesses. Family doctors handled all health issues pertaining to the family and were considered part of the family. With the development of the health care system, family doctors have been phased out. However, the introduction of primary care physicians promises to bring back Primary care physician near me
These physicians do not specialize in any area of medicine. Their main focus is to help their patients maintain their overall health. Thus they are focused more on preventative care than they are on curative care. Many insurance companies are making it a requirement to have a primary care physician. It is therefore advisable to register with one at your earliest convenience.
Before you decide on which physician to register with, it is important that you understand which medical specialties qualify as primary care physicians. Doctors in family or general practice are qualified to treat the whole family. They have training in various areas of medicine and may be board certified. Although doctors specializing in internal medicine and pediatrics are specialists in a certain field, they are also considered primary care physicians. This is because they treat a wide variety of ailments for different age groups (pediatricians treat children from birth to adolescence).
If you have a special treatment requirement, involved in an auto accident or injured at work, your primary care physician ought to be able to refer you to a specialist. Many of these doctors have links with doctors and medical clinics offering specialized treatment.
Choosing a primary care physician is not an easy task. It may be tempting to simply pick a name out of the phone book and register with them however, you will not know what to expect from this doctor. If your health insurance company has insisted that you register with a primary care physician, you can ask them to provide you with a list of doctors that they have under their network that may be accepting new patients.
Ask your friends, families and colleagues about their primary physicians. Find out about their services and if they are willing to take on new patients. Personal referrals often lead people to the physicians that best suit their requirements. This is mostly because you already have feedback on their services from their patients.
If you already have a doctor of any kind, you can request them to help you find a primary care physician. This is an especially useful technique for people moving from one location to another.
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