Reasons You Must Have A Primary Care Doctor

Imagine being lost in uncharted territory without your GPS. Or your phone. Do you know the best way to get there? Do you know if you made it to the destination you wanted to go to?

Consider your primary physician as the beacon who guides you through the plethora of medical information to provide a trustworthy source of information and a reliable guide for all the information you need to continue your journey of living a more healthy life.

What makes a primary care physician needed? We've listed the top 10 reasons.

1. For Monitoring Your Health

Your family medicine doctors is more than being there when you're sick. Your primary care physicians is there to ensure that you are healthy. This includes routine checks for serious, chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.

2. For managing chronic illnesses

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 6 out of 10 Americans suffer from chronic illness, and 4 out of 10 suffer from two or more. These are the most common causes of death and disability in America and are the primary reason behind the country's $3.5 trillion health care expenses.

The most frequent chronic diseases include diabetes, high blood pressure as well as arthritis, heart disease and COPD. Working closely with the primary care physicians doctor, you will be able to live a more healthy life and keep these illnesses under control.

3. To Set Up a Medical Home

What does it mean for the existence of a medical facility? This means that you can seek help from someone when you are facing an illness that is acute. This means that you always have someone to turn to for help, whether you require an refill for your prescription or a physical.

Most importantly, medical homes allow the doctor to track your health throughout the years and check for any signs of changes or underlying issues. This ensures that your health insurance programs are efficient and are in the right direction.

4. To provide access to specialists

Primary care physicians are able to provide easy access and referrals to a wide variety of specialists including neurologists, oncologists and others. They also collaborate with specialists to make sure they are armed with all the relevant medical information about you they need to assist.

5. To Stay Healthy

Research has shown that patients who have primary care doctors are actually healthier than those with no primary care physician.

These adults were not only more likely to regularly take and refill their medications, but they were also more likely to get regular cancer screenings like mammograms.

6. Lower costs for health care

Did you know that regular appointments with women’s health doctors can cut down on your overall health expenses. According to the Journal of Health Affairs, with regular health check-ups and regular communication with your doctor, the total cost of your health care goes down.

One reason is that you're more likely to avoid the development of serious illnesses, and regular screenings will help detect cancer when it's in its early stages, and the most straightforward to manage.

7. To keep track of Your entire health history

Your primary physician keeps a detailed record of your entire health history, including any previous screenings or laboratory tests you've undergone. You can be sure that your doctor has all the necessary information in one place if you require referral to an expert.

8. Fewer Hospital and ER Visits

The research also shows that patients who regularly visits to their primary physician are less likely to be admitted to the hospital and go to the emergency room (ER) in comparison to patients who do not have primary care.

A major reason is that those patients who do not have a primary care physician might be waiting too long to see a physician before they begin to notice signs that are beginning to appear. If it is a health issue delays can be extremely dangerous.

9. Improved Communication

Communication is at the core of a good doctor/patient relationship. Communication is key to the success of a doctor-patient connection. Your doctor should be capable of clearly and succinctly describe your treatment plan.

It's much simpler to keep the openness of your communication and to have regular conversations with a doctor you already have a relationship with.

10. Regular routine screenings

Your family medicine doctors will conduct blood work every year to determine your cholesterol levels as well as blood glucose levels, among other vital factors.