Why An Internist May Be Your Best Choice As A Primary Care Physician

Choosing the right primary care physician is something that will affect you for perhaps the rest of your life. As an adult, you should think seriously of choosing an internist. Internists are trained to deal only with adults, and their broad range of knowledge and superb diagnostic skills make them an excellent choice for all your future primary care.

Internists Are Trained to Deal with Any Medical Problem

Internal medicine is a broad, but not deep, practice. An internist is an expert at prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of adult medical conditions. Because of this broad range of knowledge, internists are often called in by other doctors as consultants on difficult or puzzling diagnoses.

Internists vs. General or Family Practitioners

The main difference, of course, is that internists only treat adults. General or family practice physicians treat all ages and may choose to specialize in areas such as pediatrics, obstetrics or surgery. Internists can specialize by going deeper into areas of internal medicine such as cardiology, rheumatology, infectious disease or adolescent medicine, while maintaining the ability to treat all adult medical conditions.

Internists Are the Detectives of the Medical World

Internists take the whole patient into consideration when diagnosing and prescribing treatment, and look for the root cause of every condition. For example, when you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, they may also inquire about your family history, diet and lifestyle. Instead of just giving you a pill to bring down your blood pressure, an internist may also prescribe massages for stress reduction, dietary changes and exercise. Since they are trained to treat everything from acne to weight loss, it is important to them to prevent a relapse or recurrence by treating the whole patient.

Internists Work Closely With Specialists

If it is necessary to send you to a specialist, your internist still maintains control of your case. They work closely with the specialist to design and prescribe the best treatment options for you as an individual, and stay personally involved with you as your primary provider. For example, if you are being treated for cancer, the oncologist can concentrate on fighting the disease while your internist will be concerned with the other physical and mental aspects of your care, such as nausea, fatigue, stress or depression.

An internist is your best adult choice as a primary care physician because he cares about the entire scope of your health and well-being. He is trained to treat a wide range of conditions, which means fewer unnecessary visits to specialists. If you do need a specialist, your internist will still be involved in your care for some aspects of treatment. Contact a company like Hightstown Medical Associates for more information.