What is family medicine?
Family medicine is a medical specialty that deals with every family member's continuous diagnosis and treatment, irrespective of age or gender. Medical practitioners who practice this field of medicine are known as family physicians. Consulting family physicians is a good idea if someone in your family requires constant medical monitoring due to one or more chronic diseases.
Before making an appointment, learning more about family physicians is a good idea. Let's start with their qualifications. After completing an undergraduate degree, aspirants must attend a four-year medical school. Then, they must complete a residency program and pass Step three of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). After completing their residency, aspirants must also sit for a board exam by the American Board of Family Medicine. Remember that every state has requirements for granting an initial medical license.
By definition, family physicians diagnose and treat a wide variety of disorders. They are, however, known for some specific medical procedures. Some of them are:
- Routine health checkups: Family physicians perform regular checkups to monitor and assess their patients' health. These tests generally involve a basic physical exam. If the patient conveys information about specific symptoms, the physician can recommend further screening tests if required or offer treatment directly.
- Health risk assessment: If you have symptoms of a severe chronic condition, family physicians will perform some tests to assess your overall health risks.
- Chronic disease treatment: Family physicians treat chronic ailments like heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
- Healthy lifestyle tips: One of family physicians' foremost responsibilities is encouraging patients to adopt healthy lifestyle habits. From losing weight to quitting smoking, family physicians can set you on a healthy path for life.
What are the different subspecialties of family physicians?
Subspecialties within family medicine encompass a broad spectrum of specialized care, catering to the diverse needs of patients at different life stages and with numerous health conditions.
These subspecialties require a deep understanding of specific medical areas and demand a holistic approach to patient care. Family physicians who pursue these specialties undergo extensive training and possess advanced skills to provide comprehensive care within their respective fields. Some of these subspecialties include:
- Adolescent medicine: Experts in this field focus on the unique biopsychosocial aspects of adolescent health care.
- Geriatric medicine: Specialists in this area possess advanced knowledge and skills in addressing the health needs of elderly patients in various settings.
- Healthcare administration, leadership, and management: Professionals in this area manage healthcare organizations effectively, ensuring optimal patient experiences and organizational efficiency.
- Hospice and palliative medicine: These specialists provide compassionate care and help relieve the suffering experienced by patients dealing with chronic illnesses. They address the patient's and family's psychological, spiritual, physical, and social needs.
- Pain medicine: These physicians specialize in diagnosing and treating acute and chronic pain, including cancer-related pain, while collaborating with other specialists as needed.
- Sleep medicine: Experts in this field diagnose and manage sleep-related disorders, utilizing advanced techniques such as polysomnography and staying updated on emerging research.
- Sports medicine: Physicians in this specialty focus on preventing, diagnosing, and treating injuries and ailments related to sports and exercise, addressing health issues affecting physical performance.
By addressing specific medical needs and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, a family physician near you can enhance patient outcomes and quality of life throughout the lifespan.
Why are regular family physician visits essential?
Visiting a family physician at relatively regular and routine intervals may seem excessive to some. However, there are many reasons why regular visits can help health outcomes in the long run:
- Early diagnosis: A late diagnosis of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart conditions, or cancer can often be detrimental. Visiting family physicians and describing any unusual symptoms is vital in ensuring that any possible symptoms are caught and evaluated early.
- Intelligent disease monitoring: Managing a chronic condition doesn't just mean taking your meds on time. A specialist should ideally review the medication's impact on your body and the overall treatment. Family physicians can act as specialists and advise you on the overall progress of your treatment.
- Preventative care: Even if you're fine healthwise, you want to make sure you don't get a chronic disease in the future. Family physicians can promote a healthy lifestyle to avoid long-term chronic conditions.
Treatments offered by family physicians near you
If you've never visited a family physician before, you should know what treatments you can expect from a family physician. Given the broad scope of family medicine, it isn't easy to list every kind of treatment family physicians offer. These are the most common ones:
- Chronic disease management: Family physicians have the training to manage severe chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and more. Through a series of tests, they can assess your treatment process's progress (or deterioration). When your health worsens, they may refer you to specialists who can better evaluate and treat your condition.
- Seasonal flu and colds: One common reason people consult family physicians is to treat seasonal flu, chills, and coughs. If available medication is not working, visiting a family physician and following a systematic treatment process is a good idea.
- Injury treatment: Injuries that lead to fractures, sprains, etc., require some attention. Family physicians often treat such conditions without the need for a specialist.
- Routine exams: Family physicians also conduct routine exams that evaluate your health on various levels. These tests are generally designed for regular patients and include standard physical exams and other routine reproductive organ screenings (prostate exams for men and pap smears for women).
How can you prepare for your visit to the family doctor?
You may not have considerable time with your family doctor during your session. It is better to be prepared to ensure that you and your doctor make the most of your time together.
Here are a few things to consider before your visit:
- Consider your concerns and any questions you may have for your family doctor, and note these. Begin with what is most important and work your way down to the least important.
- Bring as much information as possible to help your doctor comprehend your health history if you are a new patient. If you are not a new patient, you only need to share any additional information that may have changed since your last visit with your doctor.
- Record your health history. Either on paper or digitally, you can keep a "health journal" for yourself. This journal can include health concerns you have or have had, blood pressure numbers, recent symptoms, or a sleep diary. Bring your journal or health history to your appointments.
- Carry any X-rays, test results, or medical records to help the doctor learn more about your health history.
- Please list all your medications, including the dosage and when and how often you take them. You should also mention any vitamins or supplements you use.
- Please ask your family members whether they can accompany you to the session to listen, take notes, and ask questions.
Further, here are a few questions you can ask your family doctor to get some clarity on your ailment or condition:
- What do my symptoms indicate?
- Should I get tested for an illness or disease?
- What caused this condition?
- How severe is the condition?
- What is the treatment?
- Is there any risk of side effects from the treatment?
- How long will the treatment last?
- What impact will this ailment have on my life now and in the future?
Tips to keep your body healthy
Here are the top tips to help you improve your health:
Smoking is the predominant cause of most preventable diseases. It dramatically increases the chances of getting strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases. If you have this habit, it is advisable to talk to a family physician near you about quitting smoking. They can prescribe medications and help you get over it.
Regular physical activity or exercise can help you feel more energized and healthier. It even improves your mental and physical health. Thus, avoiding an idle or sedentary lifestyle and including some physical activity in your routine is advisable to improve your health.
Moderate-intensity aerobic activities or exercises like cycling, dancing, running, brisk walking, whole-body stretches, or doing household work are great ways to keep your body healthy. They help with weight management, improve heart health, strengthen bones and muscles, and decrease the chances of chronic diseases.
The body requires water to digest food, maintain body temperature, deliver vital nutrients to the cells, and ensure all the organs function correctly. Therefore, you must drink ample water daily to keep your body healthy. An adult human body needs about one gallon (three liters) of water every day. Lack of water can cause dehydration, headaches, tiredness, mood changes, and trouble focusing or concentrating.
Include more whole foods in your meals, as they contain natural minerals, vitamins, and essential nutrients necessary to keep the body healthy. Processed foods contain more preservatives, artificial colors, trans fat, and added sugar, which are unhealthy for the body and lead to various lifestyle diseases.
Fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, legumes, fish and seafood, meat and poultry, and whole grains are the best examples of whole foods. Processed meats, chips and crackers, baked products, sugar beverages, white bread, and ice cream are some processed foods it is advisable to avoid.
Sleep is essential for the body. It helps restore energy, repair cells, and rejuvenate the body. Sleep deprivation can increase the risks of metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, depression, and anxiety. Therefore, to stay healthy, you must ensure your body gets at least seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep every night.
How can you find the best family doctor near you in Denver, Colorado?
Are you looking for a family physician in Denver? Regular consultations with a family physician are vital if someone in your family needs continuous medical attention. Given their broad range of treatments, family physician consultations can be the correct answer for any conditions, symptoms, etc.
Zocdoc is the perfect solution for finding the best doctors and booking appointments. Besides booking appointments, you can also ensure that on the website, you see family physicians near you who are available within your health insurance coverage.
Here's how the process works: Once you navigate the website, type in the specialist you wish to consult. You should also enter your location and health insurance plan details.
To input your medical, dental, or vision insurance details into your Zocdoc account, navigate to your account settings and select "Insurance." If you're using the Zocdoc app, you can access this feature by going to "My Account" and selecting "Insurance." There are two methods to add your insurance information:
- Manually selecting your insurance carrier and plan.
- Uploading an image of your medical insurance card (this option is not available for vision or dental plans). Zocdoc's system will scan the photo and identify your likely insurance plan after you upload it.
You also have the choice to include your member ID. Adding your member ID can enhance our ability to estimate your expected copay or coinsurance for certain appointments. Additionally, some providers may require your member ID on your Zocdoc account before booking appointments. For any other insurance-related queries, visit the Zocdoc's patient help center.
Based on your search criteria, Zocdoc will list the best family physician near you. To further personalize the search process, you can use search filters such as availability, distance, timeslot, doctor's gender, language proficiency, hospital affiliation, etc.
Furthermore, you can view each doctor's ratings, reviews, profile, and qualifications. It helps you get some background on the specialist you plan to consult.
All bookings with Zocdoc are simple, secure, and free!
Health statistics in Denver and Colorado
General health statistics in the city and state best underline the importance of family medicine in Denver.
A County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report shows that Denver is the 23rd healthiest county in Colorado out of 64. The same source also states that about 16% of Denver's adult population reported poor health. The percentage is higher than the state number but lower than the national number of around 17%.
Coming to general health data from the same source, the adult smoking and obesity rates are around 13% and 22%. Both numbers are lower than the state and national average, a positive sign for public health in Denver.
Sources
American Academy of Family Physicians
WebMD
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
Kauvery Hospital
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
Familydoctor.org
American Board of Medical Specialties
Healthline
