What is Family Medicine?
Family Medicine is a medical specialty that provides continuing, comprehensive health care to individuals and families. In order to maintain Board Certification, Family Physicians must complete at least 150 hours of Continuing Medical Education every three years, and pass a comprehensive Board Certification exam every 7 years.
Why a Family Physician?
Studies show that treatment by Family Physicians results in quality of care equal to sub-specialty care, high patient satisfaction and more cost effective use of hospitals, testing procedures, and expensive technology.
What Can Family Physicians Do?
- Your Family Physician cares for people of both genders and all ages.
- Your Family Physician diagnoses and treats 90% of all patient problems.
- Your Family Physician works closely with patients and other sub-specialists to coordinate care for special and/or complicated problems.
- Your Family Physician treats the whole patient, taking into account all medical, social and mental health concerns of the individual.
- Your Family Physician practices disease prevention and health maintenance in addition to treating illness.
Just a Few of the Many Things Family Physicians Can Treat and Do
- Alcohol or Drug problems
- Endocrine problems -- diabetes, high cholesterol, thyroid problems
- Fever and Infections
- Heart Problems -- angina, heart disease, heart failure, high blood pressure
- Injuries -- broken bones, cuts and lacerations, sprains, strains
- Intestinal problems -- abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, hemorrhoids, irritable bowel, ulcers
- Mental Health problems -- anxiety, depression
- Mother and Baby Care -- prenatal care, delivering babies, newborn care
- Muscle and Bone problems -- arthritis, back pain, bursitis, osteoporosis, tendonitis
- Neurologic problems -- headache, stroke
- Respiratory problems -- asthma, colds, bronchitis, ear pain, emphysema, hay fever, pneumonia
- Routine Health Care -- adolescents, adults, babies, birth control, immunizations, children, seniors, smoking cessation
- Skin problems -- acne, moles, rashes, warts
- Urinary problems -- enlarged prostate, infections, kidney stones
- Women’s Health - abnormal periods, breast problems, hormone replacement therapy, ovarian cysts, PAP smears, vaginal problems.
- And much much more!!!
What is Primary Care?
Primary Care is the provision of comprehensive, coordinated, and continuous care in a variety of settings across any stage of the life cycle.
Primary Care provides for the majority of personal health care needs, which means that problems are not restricted to organ system, gender, or disease entity and may include physician, mental, emotional, and social concerns.
Primary Care physicians develop a partnership with patients, and practice in the context of family and community.
Why is Primary Care Important?
Evidence suggests that restructuring and strengthening the role of primary care practitioners in the health care system will facilitate access to affordable, high quality health care for all Americans.
Studies suggest that access to primary care is associated with:
- improved health care outcomes
- lower mortality rates
- reduced emergency department use
- decreased rate of preventable hospital admissions
- less invasive, lower cost care
- no differences in quality of care when compared to sub-specialist care
- higher patient satisfaction