22, Jun 2023
A primary care provider (PCP) is a healthcare professional who helps you manage your overall health.
They are the first to contact you with any medical problem or question.
PCPs address patients' day-to-day healthcare needs and help them get on the right track to having healthy, high-quality lives.
It is vital to build a long-term relationship with your PCP to keep you healthier.
A PCP can discuss preventive care, treat you when you are sick and help you find more advanced care with a specialist.
Your PCP is your partner responsible for your physical and mental health.
Finding the right PCP for you takes time but improves your long-term well-being.
Your PCP is your partner responsible for your physical and mental health.
Finding the right PCP for you takes time but improves your long-term well-being.
Primary care providers, or general practitioners, cover everyday health concerns.
In your annual health checkups, your PCP will learn much about your personality and lifestyle, current health, medical history, surgical history, family history and treatment preferences.
A PCP will then teach you to make better healthcare decisions to prevent diseases.
For example, guiding efforts to quit smoking and drinking, eat more nutritious foods or even manage stress.
Primary care physicians detect potential health problems before they become too severe.
Therefore, people who have an excellent PCP spend fewer healthcare dollars in the long run due to fewer hospitalizations.
When you have an urgent medical situation during business hours, you must contact your PCP first.
A PCP can uniquely assist you because they know your medical history and have developed a trusted rapport; your PCP will be able to help you uniquely going forward aptly. Visiting Urgent Care may be an option only for after-hours emergencies.
Primary care physicians walk the path with patients through their healthcare journey and monitor their ever-changing lifestyles with aging.
Routine checkups can detect early warning signs of certain life-threatening health conditions, including cancer.
During each regular visit, your vital signs — such as your blood pressure, pulse, temperature, weight and chronic diseases — get evaluated so your PCP can compare these results with previous years' data to ensure you are still healthy and fit.
The long-term benefits of primary care come from an established doctor-patient relationship and a complete medical chart.
Suppose something suddenly is off with your blood work or vital signs. In that case, you can consult your primary care doctor and address the problem much quicker than seeking attention from a random general practitioner in an urgent care clinic.
Establishing care with a primary care provider brings consistency and efficiency on several levels.
The familiarity with the intricacies of your detailed health history help personalize your care and save time while seeing your PCP.
Tailored health care becomes easier when you have a a meaningful relationship with your provider.
A PCP helps you stay healthy and can be the first to treat your health problems that arise.
A primary care provider screens all major health conditions like a mammogram for breast cancer or a PAP smear for cervical cancer.
Your PCP helps manage chronic medical conditions such as morbid obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and high cholesterol, improving your quality of life.
If the medical problem needs a specialist, your PCP will find you an appropriate one.
Your PCP also ensures that your vaccines are current to prevent illnesses like influenza, shingles, pneumonia or COVID.
If you haven't done so already, consider researching and finding a PCP who fits your personality and partners in your long-term care.
A good relationship with your PCP can help you detect and manage various health issues.
Dr. Sue Mitra and her staff strive to offer their patients the best care, advice and services available in the medical field with the goal to keep patient healthy & happy.
Dr. Sue Mitra is board certified in international medicine. She is seen here with a Cologuard, which is a noninvasive colon cancer screening test. (Photo by: Tim Shortt/Florida Today)