What Is a Primary Care Physician, and Why Do You Need One?

What exactly is a primary care physician?

A primary care physician is a medical doctor who’s trained to prevent, diagnose, and treat a broad array of illnesses and injuries in the general population.

Primary care physicians provide comprehensive care — which means they can address chronic, long-term conditions like diabetes mellitus as well as acute problems like bronchitis, allergic reactions, or colds and flu.

Training和资格

Becoming a primary care physician is a lengthy 过程 that involves many years of education and training.

经过四年的学士学位，前瞻性医生参加医学院，需要额外四年。医学院毕业生赚取了MD（医生）或（骨质疗法医生）学位。

Once a doctor has earned his/her medical degree, residency is the next step. During a residency, doctors study a particular medical specialty for an additional three to seven years, depending on which field of medicine they plan to practice.

Some physicians then complete a fellowship, which is even more specific to an area of focus and can last for one to three years. Primary care physicians usually study family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, or geriatrics.

Many doctors decide to become board certified. To become board certified, doctors must complete a residency at an approved medical facility. They must also take a rigorous exam that tests their knowledge of their chosen field.

初级保健医生做了什么？

初级保健医生可以在各种各样的环境中练习，包括：

• 医疗诊所
• private or group practices
• long-term care facilities
• outpatient and inpatient hospital settings

When you see a primary care doctor, you can expect to have access to a full range of health services. Let’s take a closer look at the types of services a primary care physician can provide.

健康和预防screenings

Primary care physicians commonly check for:

• 高血压
• 其他风险因素心脏病
• 高胆固醇
• 糖尿病糖尿病
• breast,颈椎网,prostate， 和结肠直肠癌
• developmental disorders
• status ofimmunizations防止疾病
• sexually transmitted diseases
• 沮丧
• 迹象domestic violence

Acute illness and injury care

If you visit your primary care doctor because you’re sick, injured, or have symptoms that concern you, your doctor will likely be able to:

• perform lab tests to diagnose your condition
• prescribe appropriate medications for your condition
• check for interactions with other medicines you’re taking
• conduct anEKG（心电图）评估你的心脏
• dospirometry teststo assess your lung function
• treat acute conditions likeasthma attacks,偏头痛攻击, orurinary tract infections
• provide wound care
• manage fever ordehydration
• do preliminary tests to check for broken bones
• splint, cast, or brace injured limbs
• treat minor skin infections, bites, rashes, or muscle strains or sprains
• 连接你mental health resources在你的社区
• assess your need to see a specialist

慢性条件

If you have a long-term (chronic)health condition, your primary care physician can:

• coordinate care with specialists
• prescribe medications to manage your condition and change them if they stop working, adjusting when needed
• help you put together a diet, exercise, and self-care plan
• monitor drug interactions if you’re being treated for multiple conditions
• 执行必要的实验室测试以监控您的健康和进度
• 连接你resources related to your condition

What kind of primary care physician do you need?

有几种医师提供初级保健。以下是它们如何彼此不同的简要描述。

Family doctors.These physicians treat patients of all ages. They are trained in adult medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, geriatric medicine, and musculoskeletal care. In a typical family medical practice, around 10 to 15 percent of the patients are children.

内科医生。Doctors who practice internal medicine specialize in treating adults. Like family doctors, they treat many acute and chronic conditions. Therefore, they receive training in many different fields, including endocrinology, rheumatology, neurology, orthopedics, geriatrics, and rehabilitation.

儿科医生。Pediatricians complete special training that focuses on wellness, development, and treatment of the conditions that can affect babies, children, and teenagers up to the age of 21. Many pediatricians are primary care providers for children, but others may specialize further in a particular field such as pediatric neurology or cardiology.

老年人。These physicians specialize in treating older adults. Because of their advanced training, they are especially adept at treating issues likeinsomnia,dementia， 和平衡问题. There are only around 6,900 certified geriatricians in the United States, so it may be harder to locate a geriatrician in your area than it is to find an internist or family doctor.

Obstetrician-gynecologists(OB-GYN).These medical doctors specialize in women’s health and have training and expertise in reproductive health, pregnancy, childbirth, and产后条件. Some OB-GYNs provide many types of general health services, similar to an internist or family doctor, while others only focus on female reproductive health.

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants.在某些初级保健实践中，您可以由护士从业者（NP）或医师助理（PA）对待。这些训练有素的专业人士在初级保健中越来越重要。他们必须获得硕士学位，通过认证考试，并保持国家执照进行练习。PAS在医生的监督下，美国大约一半的国家要求医生监督NPS。

选择初级保健医生时需要考虑什么：

Because a primary care physician can have a big impact on your health, it’s important to find a doctor you trust and feel comfortable with. TheHealthline FindCare tool如果您还没有医生，可以在您所在地区提供选项。

以下是在选择初级保健医生时考虑的一些实际问题：

• 保险。一个好的起点是你寻找医生health insurance plan. If your plan requires you to use an in-network doctor, start by looking at the list of participating doctors.
• Location.How close is the doctor to your home or office? If you plan to use public transportation to get to the doctor’s office, how long will the trip take?
• Hours.医生的办公时间是您的工作时间表或您孩子的学校时间表兼容吗？如果您需要它们，该办公室是否有周末，晚上或随叫随到的服务？
• Language.Can your doctor or members of his staff communicate well in a language you prefer using?
• Board certification.您可以看到您正在考虑的医生是否通过使用的董事会认证Certification Matters美国医学专业委员会提供的工具。
• 在线访问。Does the primary care team offer telemedicine options? Do they offer an online portal where you can ask your doctor questions, schedule appointments, see your test results, and access your health history?
• Policies.如果您需要取消或重新安排约会，有哪些政策？如果您需要昂贵且保险未涵盖的程序，办公室是否提供付款计划？

Questions to consider

In addition, you may want to think about the following questions:

• Is your doctor trained to meet any special needs you may have?
• 您的主要护理医生是否需要准备好适应某些残疾？
• Do you want a doctor who is informed about the special challenges healthcare can present to sexual abuse, domestic violence, trauma, and racism survivors?
• 您希望您的医生了解Transcender，Genderqueer或Intersex人所面临的挑战吗？
• If natural remedies and alternative therapies are important to you, is your doctor educated about them?

下一步在选择医生

一旦您在可能的初级保健医生的短期列表上定居，请联系办公室安排预约。

When you call the office, notice how the staff interacts with you. Since you’ll often be communicating with the office staff, it’s important to feel comfortable with them, too.

When you meet with the primary care physician, bring a list of questions that are important to you.

Notice whether the doctor is listening to your concerns. It may feel uncomfortable to think of a doctor’s appointment as an interview, but it can also be empowering. It may help you to remember that you and your doctor are forming a partnership to take care of your health.

It’s okay if it takes more than one interview to find the right doctor for you.

The bottom line

Primary care physicians are doctors who work to prevent, diagnose, and treat a wide range of conditions that affect people at varying life stages.

Primary care physicians have the expertise and training to:

• 屏幕为健康状况
• keep your immunizations up to date
• 进行测试以诊断您的状况
• 当你生病或受伤时对待你
• 如果您正在处理慢性状况，请帮助您照顾好自己
• refer you to specialists if needed

一些初级保健医生专注于一种特定的患者人口，如儿童或老年人。有些人是治疗所有年龄段的患者的家庭医生。

如果您正在寻找初级保健医生，那么找出您可以提前练习的一切，这是一个好主意。建立与初级保健医生的关系，谁适合您，可能会在现在和将来提高您的健康成果。