What is family practice?
A family practitioner is a primary care doctor who provides health services to adults, children and adolescents. Family practitioners have a very broad scope of practice, but are usually the patient’s first consultation before being referred to other specialists, if necessary. The family practitioner performs annual physical examinations; ensures up-to-date immunization status; counsels patients on healthy lifestyles; monitors patients’ blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels; and ensures other baseline tests are within normal levels for the patient’s age and gender.
When do I see a family practitioner?
In the United States, about one in four visits to a doctor are to a family practice doctor. Family care physicians care for the poor, indigent and undeserved in the community more than any other physician specialty.
When a patient is an infant or child, he or she might see a family practitioner specializing in pediatric care. When the young patient transitions from childhood to adulthood during adolescence, he or she can see a family practice doctor specializing in adolescent medicine or a regular family practitioner, also known as adult-care physician. Around the ages 18-21, patients typically transition to an adult-care physician who is better suited to their health-care needs.
What should I expect when I visit a family practitioner?
A family practitioner’s scope of practice varies, but these specialists typically provide basic diagnoses and non-surgical treatment of common medical conditions and illnesses.
To arrive at a diagnosis, family doctors will interview and examine the patient. This requires discussing the history of the present illness, including a review of the patient’s body systems, medication history, allergies, family history, surgical history and social history. Then the physician will perform a physical examination and possibly order basic medical tests, such as blood tests, electrocardiograms or X-rays. Ultimately, all this information is combined to arrive at a diagnosis and possible treatment. Tests of a more complex and lengthy nature may be referred to a specialist
Together with the patient, the family practitioner forms a plan of care that can include additional testing if needed, a referral to see a specialist, medication prescriptions, therapies, changes to diet or lifestyle, additional patient education, or follow-up treatment. Patients also may receive advice or education on improving health behaviors, self-care and treatment, screening tests and immunizations.
What are the most common conditions family practitioners treat?
- Anemia
- Asthma
- Common cold
- Dementia
- Diabetes
- Gastrointestinal complaint
- Gynecological complaint
- Headaches
- High blood pressure
- Infectious diseases
- Musculoskeletal complaint
- Pregnancy
- Psychiatric disease
- Sexually transmitted disease
- Skin complaint
- Urinary tract complaint
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