Saturday, July 9, 2016

By Daniel Campbell


A primary care physician (PCP) refers to a medical practitioner whose specialty is in the provision of first contact for patients with undiagnosed health issues. These professionals also offer continuing medical services for patients with a wide range of medical problems. The service offered is usually not limited by the diagnosis, organ system, or cause. When in need of the best primary care physician Rutherford NJ is one of the best locations to consider visiting.

Many English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States are still new to the use of the term primary health physician. The term general practitioner has been in wider use in the United States, but is being dropped gradually. The same is happening in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries.

Completion of medical school is a major requirement in order to work in this field. Graduates are awarded with either an MD, MBBS, or a DO. One has to undertake further studies in postgraduate training in programs related to primary care. Some of the postgraduate programs one may undertake include internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine. Gynecologists are allowed to practice as general practitioners in some jurisdictions to provide health service for women.

In the same way, emergency physicians are counted among general practitioners in some cases. This comes about because most cases they tackle are primary healthcare-related. However, emergency physicians receive training that is more interested in acute intervention, discharge, referral or transfer, and episodic care. General practitioners focus more on chronic conditions and provision of continuing health services. Emergency physicians engage in these areas only to a limited degree.

A certain scope of practice and skill set defines the profession of general practitioners. Generally, their work involve diagnosing and treating illnesses. The diagnosis and treatment employs a wide range of diagnostic procedures. For example, they collect medical details about a patient through patient interviews. Some of the details they collect are medical history and present symptoms of disease. Physical examination is used to verify illnesses.

The training PCPs receive includes basic medical testing. For instance, they are able to interpret results from sample tests such as urine and blood. They are also able to interpret results from x-rays and electrocardiograms. In case PCPs need more sophisticated and time-intensive diagnostic procedures, they often have to obtain referrals from specialists. Once a full diagnosis has been obtained the PCP proceeds to formulate a treatment plan with the assistance of the patient.

The treatment plan formulated usually consists of several components. Some major ones include lifestyle changes, medication, therapy, patient education, diet changes, specialist referrals, further testing, and follow up results. It is also the responsibility of PCPs to ensure that their patients understand safe health behaviors, treatment options, and self-care skills by educating and counseling them. They also offer immunizations and screening tests.

There is a big role played by PCPs in the health service system. Patients usually prefer them as the first contact for many reasons. Some of the reasons why people prefer them as first contacts is accessible location, affordability, ease of communication, and familiarity.




About the Author:



0 comments: