Experts label families as the “basic unit” of individual health and societal well-being. However, statistics show that 70-80 percent of Americans consider their families as dysfunctional. Similarly, many Americas believe they’re eating healthy when over one-third of them suffer from obesity. Many citizens also have someone among their friends/family addicted to drugs. In contrast, every fifth adult in the USA lives with a mental illness. These factoids show that an average American household requires constant professional assistance from dedicated healthcare practitioners. Your first contact with the health sector involves the family physician specializing in lifelong caregiving for your family and maintaining their health.
The Importance of Family Physicians in 2021
A family physician provides ongoing medical services to each member of your family. They’re trained to treat patients in small regions, making the family practice one of the most in-demand careers among health workers today. Working 40-50 hours/week, these physicians see 20-30 patients each day. Treating the same patients creates a strong relationship with your family members and earns their confidence. In 2021, distance learning can easily produce competent family physicians.
For instance, nurses who have earned an MSN can leverage e-learning facilities to boost their academic expertise. So, you can now pursue this education digitally without allowing it to hinder your professional responsibilities. Earning a post master’s FNP certificate online will help you specialize in family/forensic nursing. So, besides furthering your educational proficiency, why is it worth pursuing a career as a family physician today? Well, here’s why family physicians are the need of the hour during this health crisis:
A Trusting Relationship
It isn’t uncommon to become nervous/queasy at a doctor’s appointment. But family physicians have a trusting connection with their patients that makes their clients comfortable around them. When you frequent your primary caregiver, these visits establish familiarity that encourages patients to be more forthcoming with their problems. Overall, it makes the community healthier when people aren’t afraid of medical checkups – especially during this pandemic where everyone’s on edge!
An Accurate Diagnosis
Since your primary physician’s familiar with your medical records and knows your family history, this information enables them to make an accurate diagnosis. When patients keep changing doctors, it makes caregiving less effective. However, your family physician isn’t another stranger with a chart. This person has been treating you and your family for several years now. They understand your previous diagnoses. So, your primary physician can create an effective treatment strategy for you.
Finding Specialists
Primary caregivers are those experts people first contact when they suffer from medical problems. They act as a bridge between patients and advanced healthcare opportunities. Since they’re familiar with your medical records, these experts can find someone who fits your personality. Also, family physicians can find a specialist for patients when they’re suffering from serious diseases, e.g., cardiovascular complications. That’s how family physicians make healthcare more effective in our country.
A Lifelong Connection
So, what’s the point of seeing one physician longer than others? Studies have indicated how you can “live longer” by staying with a single doctor! In other words, continuity in healthcare reduces deaths by increasing a patient’s longevity. Switching physicians may hurt the patient medically. So, sticking with your family physician can help patients maintain their well-being and avoid medical pitfalls. It makes primary caregivers crucial to improve a community’s access to quality healthcare services.
They Remember You
General physicians endure a heavier workload than their family counterparts. So, patients often find physicians impossible to interact with and filled with communication barriers. A survey revealed that one-third of patients could name their doctors, while 60% could name nurses correctly. But your family physician interacts with you frequently, so they are familiar with your medical history. It prevents them from asking the same question or making patients reiterate the information they’ve already provided during the previous session. Therefore, family physicians offer effective healthcare to their patients, create better results, and bolster the overall well-being of your family members.
You Remember Them
Patients are – unfortunately – more forgetful than doctors/nurses. It’s estimated that patients don’t remember 40-80 percent of the information given by a healthcare practitioner. Moreover, 50% of what they remember isn’t correct at all! That’s why family physicians are essential today since they can help patients retain crucial medical information. Recurring visits to the clinic allow patients to memorize instructions since patients enjoy immediate accessibility with their primary caregiver.
Health Training
Your family physician can serve as your primary health trainer as well. These experts can give people personalized diet plans to help them improve their well-being while creating individualized exercises to uphold health. They can recommend some exercises to maintain your health –mental and physical – while advising you to consume meals filled with vitamins and proteins. Family physicians suggest patients give up smoking/drinking, thereby saving people from these harmful addictions.
Preventing Illnesses
You should have a family physician even if you don’t suffer from a health problem. These experts are well-versed in preventive healthcare since avoiding disease is more effective than treating one. So, your primary caregiver serves as the gatekeeper of your medical history. It’s suggested that people should visit their family physicians at least every year for medical checkups. From children to seniors – these healthcare practitioners are trained to serve all sorts of clients and boost their well-being.
Saving People’s Lives
Evidence shows that family physicians can save both costs and lives in health. Studies have revealed that a 23% increase in family practice expenditures causes an 18% drop in medical expenses (Rhode Island). Similarly, another study suggests that bringing one primary caregiver for every 10,000 folks can reduce surgeries and ER visits by 11%! While COVID-19 has increased the need for better healthcare in the USA, adding family physicians in a community will make health more effective.
Conclusion
Statistics show that 78% of Americans had a family physician in 2012. Nine years have passed, but we still need these experts as the health of an average US family continues to decline! So, your family physician documents your entire family’s medical history. It enables them to create a strong relationship with everyone in your household and help your community make healthy choices. These experts can conduct routine checkups, provide health screenings, and prevent chronic ailments. Their training in preventive medicine allows family physicians to create long-term health plans to maintain your well-being. During an ongoing pandemic, these healthcare professionals have become essential for the health of society.
