According to a recent article by Healthy Magazine, “Being in good health is the greatest indicator of people’s spiritual, mental, physical well-being, and happiness.” Having a good relationship with a family care physician you trust can become an important, life-long investment not only for your health but that of your family. Here is a look at three of the major benefits to fostering a relationship with a primary care physician.
- They Keep Track of your Personal and Family Medical History
Along with keeping records on all the services that you have been exposed to over the years, family practice physicians are capable of coordinating the health information gathered about your family members and applying it in a useful fashion. Family physicians supply a broad spectrum of services and serve as a patient’s first contact in medical emergencies. Unlike specialty doctors that you may see once every few years, family physicians encourage a doctor-patient relationship that fosters trust and provides valuable insight for potential patient issues that lie outside of the medical or biological context. For instance, they notice things about a patient’s mental health because of their experience with that patient.
- They are More Helpful than You Realize
Family physicians are a “jack of many trades.” Hampton Family Practice patients are often surprised by the vast amount of services and procedures their family physician is capable of providing. Unlike their specialty counterparts, family physicians can help patients with clinical, topical, and behavioral services. Their treatments and expertise allow them to assist with every major organ system of the body. They are capable of providing care for pediatrics, geriatrics, family medicine, emergency and hospital medicine and even authorized to perform certain surgeries.
- They Help Save You and Your Community Money
Because of the variety of medical services a family physician can provide, they are an important jumping off point for their patient’s health-related concerns. Despite their broad scope of expertise, they tend to be much less expensive than a specialty doctor. If a specialty doctor is necessary, family physicians tend to work closely with a broad network of other physicians. They can consult with a specialist or help you find one. Part of a family physician’s job is helping their patients navigate the increasingly more complicated healthcare industry. According to some studies, when one family physician is added to 10,000 people, hospital visits are lowered by 5.5% and emergency room and surgical hospital visits are both lowered by 11%. Those lowered hospital visits help lower the cost of medical care within the communities they provide for. Their preventive as well as chronic care can help patients keep diseases and illnesses at bay.
Hampton Family Practice physicians provide and deliver acute, chronic and preventive care while maintaining a close relationship with their parents that can sometimes last decades. The services they provide help the Hampton Road and surrounding communities remain healthy while lowering medical costs. To schedule an appointment with one of our primary care providers, contact us at (757) 838-6335.