10 Benefits of Having a Primary Care Provider
With the increased popularity of telehealth and urgent care clinics, fewer people are seeking healthcare from a primary care provider. While this may save time in the short-term, these services are not a viable substitute for the care that you would otherwise receive from a family care practioner. Here are 10 benefits of having a primary care provider that you may not have considered:
- Continuity of Care: Having a trusted relationship with a doctor who can see the big picture of your full medical history is important in maintaining one’s overall health. By partnering with a primary care physician, he/she will be better equipped to establish trends and make recommendations regarding your health.
- Prevention and Early Detection: Having your overall health profile enables your primary care physician to recommend tests that can determine your risk of developing certain diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. If you’re at high risk, your primary care doctor can recommend lifestyle changes you may need to make to help lower that risk and prevent becoming sick.
- Early Detection: By establishing a baseline and monitoring trends in your health, having a primary care physician often results in early detection when health issues are most treatable.
- Care for the Whole Family Under One Roof: Many primary care physicians, like those at NorthStar Primary Care, are experienced in caring for all types of patients, throughout all different stages of the life cycle. This allows them to evaluate how relationships between family members can impact their health. For example, your family physician that provides care for your newborn will be more likely to recognize how challenges such as breastfeeding may be contributing to your postpartum mental health or how the stress of a parent’s chronic condition may impact a child’s behavior or academic performance.
- Comprehensive, Personalized Care: When patients know their physician and the practice staff, visits are less stressful and more productive. It’s easier to talk about sensitive issues with someone you know in a familiar setting than with a stranger in a strange place. This allows your provider to deliver comprehensive, personalized care.
- More Cost-Effective: Healthcare costs continue to rise year over year. While these rising costs are largely out of your control, there is one way that you can save money and that’s having a primary care physician. Research has shown that patients who regularly see a primary care doctor have lower overall healthcare costs compared to those without a go-to physician. Not only do primary care physicians generally charge less than urgent care clinics, specialists and emergency rooms, but they are also often able to detect and treat problems before they progress.
- Saves Time: By having a primary care physician, he or she has already learned the details of your medical history, your health goals and your concerns. Over time, you’ll save countless hours from not having to start from scratch on every doctor visit.
- Patient Empowerment: The role of your doctor should be to serve as your partner, which means you also play a significant role in your own care. Through the education and information your doctor shares with you and your own research, you’ll be empowered to take charge of your health in a proactive, prevention-focused way.
- Coordination of Care: Often times the management of chronic illness requires involvement from several specialists. In addition to being part of your health care team, one of the roles of your primary care physician is to facilitate coordination of care among all providers.
- Medication Management: An estimated 23% of Americans reported using three or more prescription medications in the past 30 days. Often, medications are prescribed by different doctors which increases the risk of adverse drug interactions. A primary care physician can serve as a gatekeeper by keeping track of all medications a patient takes, noting any changes in dosages or frequency that could cause negative side effects. Many electronic medical record systems used in physician offices these days will automatically flag medication contraindications, prompting the doctor to review with the patient any side effects he or she may be having. The primary care physician can then recommend changes to the medications or consult with the prescribing doctors to better manage the patient’s medication regimen. As a key member of your health care team, your primary care provider at NorthStar Primary Care can offer guidance to help you stay well, provide treatment and monitoring when you’re ill, and coordinate your care if specialized treatment is needed.