A primary care doctor provides an important foundation for good health, but it's something a good number of Americans don't have.
Recent surveys show about a quarter of adults don't have someone they consider their primary care doctor and among 18-29-year-olds that number jumps to 45 percent. With the COVID-19 pandemic, office visits for things like physicals and preventive screenings have dipped.
At Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), we know having a health care partner can help you live your best life. Our skilled primary care physicians throughout the region are ready to help you over the long term. Primary care doctors have an interest in a comprehensive approach to patient care. They provide continuity.
Family medicine and general internal medicine make up the lion's share of what's commonly known as primary care. You'll receive excellent care either way. Things like preventive screenings, immunizations and more are treated the same. But there are some differences in training and the way practices are generally run. Here's what you need to know.
“Our job is about providing value and trust. It's not necessarily as simple as just a clinic visit,” says Grant Greenberg, MD, Chair, Department of Family Medicine, LVHN. “Not only are we uniquely focused on the prevention of disease, we also treat chronic disease and help families navigate chronic disease.”
Family medicine doctors, says Greenberg, have a wide range of medical interests. A family medicine doctor sees patients of all ages, from infants to seniors. Up to 20 percent of a family medicine doctor's practice can be devoted to those under 18. Some family medicine doctors, albeit a smaller number on the East Coast compared to other areas of the country, deliver babies. Home visits aren't out of the question, though they can be supplemented through video capability on smart phones, tablets or laptops.
Greenberg says it's the breadth of what a family medicine doctor does that's special.
Family medicine doctors have relationships with specialists and make referrals when necessary, but the family doctor is at the center of it all. “We don't rely on the specialists to care for the patients. We care for them with the collaboration of the specialists,” says Greenberg.
The training for family medicine is almost exclusively focused on the treatment of outpatient conditions. “We have a wide range of medical interests and expertise. You could receive a variety of services at your visit, including vaccinations, screening tests for vision and hearing, an EKG, an office-based procedure, or a joint injection,” says Greenberg.
Family medicine doctors, says Greenberg, care for the whole family through the entire life cycle, not just for preventive care, but also for things like chronic disease and behavioral health. In the Lehigh Valley region, Greenberg says statistics show half of all patients who saw a primary care doctor in the last 18 months saw a family medicine physician.
If your primary care doctor's credentials list internal medicine, his or her post medical school training is very different than a family physician. An internist's residency training is geared toward more complex diseases, often those that can result in hospitalization.
Stacey Smith, MD, Chief, Division of Internal Medicine and Vice Chair of Education, Department of Medicine, LVHN, says internal medicine doctors have training in all the sub-specialties of internal medicine, including cardiology and nephrology.
He says internists work with adults, those with multiple medical issues and those likely to need hospitalization.
If patients are hospitalized, fewer primary care internal medicine physicians see them in that in-patient setting. That's because many hospitals now employ specialized internal medicine doctors, call hospitalists, to take care of patients in the hospital. When the patient is released, they return to their primary care internal medicine doctor.
“It has changed the way most internists practice,” he says. “Now we are probably 90 percent outpatient. We're more and more like our family medicine colleagues in that respect.”
Smith says internists have a greater depth of training in adult medicine, providing more in-depth treatment of things like heart problems. Family medicine, he says, has a greater range able to provide care across a greater spectrum of ages.
“If you are older, have complicated care, and you want a doctor who is trained to handle 90 percent of your care without referrals that's the (internal medicine) niche there,” Smith says.
The bottom line is the niches and norms of the past are changing as the face of medicine evolves. It comes down to individual patients and what they are looking for in their primary care doctor. At LVHN, you'll find your fit.
Finding a doctor
Finding a family medicine or internal medicine doctor through LVHN is easy. Just visit LVHN.org/findadoctor. Search family medicine, internal medicine or primary care to find a primary care health partner near you.
Lehigh Valley Health Network | lvhn.org
This post is a sponsored collaboration between Lehigh Valley Health Network and Lehigh Valley Style.
