Having a professional you can go to for your day-to-day health needs is essential for better health outcomes. Besides managing your everyday health needs, a long-term relationship with your primary care physician lowers your medical costs. A primary care provider can teach you ways to stay healthy, treat you and help you find advanced or special care when you need it. Finding the right PCP for you takes time, but the good news is that you can benefit from primary care Southaven services offered at Desoto Family Care Clinic.
What is primary care?
Primary care is the first point of contact between a patient and the healthcare system; it offers individuals access to the necessary information and resources for improved health outcomes. Usually, primary healthcare professionals work with different patients and have broad knowledge about physical, social, and psychological ailments that may affect their patients.
A primary care doctor is the first person you talk to when you have a medical problem that doesn’t need urgent or emergency care. Primary care providers are usually doctors and are sometimes called primary care physicians. However, physician assistants and nurses can also provide primary care.
What does a primary care provider do?
A primary care provider will establish a long-term relationship with you; they are typically your partner in your health journey. Patients and PCPs usually have long-term relationships meant to help a patient stay healthy or get better when sick.
Primary care providers cover everyday health concerns and are also called general practitioners. Your primary care provider can address your daily health concerns and answer questions about infections, medicines, or chronic conditions. Routine visits like annual health checkups allow your physician to know more about your current health, medical history, family’s medical history, treatment preferences, and personality and lifestyle.
What do checkups with a PCP entail?
A primary care physician will first consider everyday aspects of your lifestyle and history since they contribute to your overall health. They will then teach you ways to make better health choices to prevent diseases. For example, your primary care provider can guide efforts to eat more nutritious foods, manage stress, or quit smoking. Your care provider will also ensure your vaccines are up to date to prevent illnesses like the flu. They may also suggest screening tests like a mammogram for breast cancer. Screenings are essential since they detect problems before you even notice them.
Your primary care physician may treat health problems like a rash or an infection and help you manage long-term health problems like depression, diabetes, or hypertension. If you need a medical specialist like a knee surgeon or heart doctor, your primary care provider can help you find one.
Why do I need a primary care provider?
Primary care physicians detect and catch potential health problems early before they become severe and difficult to treat. Having a PCP also means you spend less time in the hospital and less money on medical costs. A PCP gives you complete care over your lifespan and knows when you need advanced care.
Visit your provider at Desoto Family Care Clinic for all your primary care needs to live a healthy life.
