Much like the role of a homeroom teacher in a student’s life, primary care physicians are the first point of contact to manage your health. Primary care physicians are the gatekeepers responsible for the comprehensive care of their patients. Innova Primary Care recognizes that healthcare management is a team effort between patients, providers, and specialists. It is our honor to serve the residents of Huntsville, AL, and in doing so be a part of the change and renewal in healthcare.

Manage Your Health, For Your Health’s Sake

Effective patient care revolves around trust and collaboration. An informed patient works with their primary care physician for the benefit of their health.

A discussion of health management responsibilities is not complete without a definition of primary care. We must look at primary care as a combination of the type of care PCPs provide their patients and what that care looks like. Specially trained to serve the public at large, primary care physicians give comprehensive care to their patients. Disease prevention, preventative screenings, education, health counseling, the diagnosis of both chronic and acute conditions, all encompass primary care. PCPs provide these services in the office, via telehealth, in inpatient settings, etc.

Specialists to Manage Your Health

Primary care service is invaluable because your PCP is the keeper of the keys. A visit to your primary doctor for a routine check-up (preventative care) may lead to referrals to specialists for further evaluation. For example, you are new to the area and have yet to meet with a dermatologist. Your PCP will perform your annual visit and then put you in touch with a dermatologist, a skin specialist, to perform a skin check. If you are having knee pain or digestive issues, your PCP will refer you to a physician who specializes in taking care of these specific needs. In essence, a primary care physician manages your health continuously over time.

How valuable is primary care to your health? A 2019 survey study consisting of over 49,000 American adults with primary care physicians and over 21,000 American adults with no primary care found a significant difference in the number of high-value services provided to patients. Those under the care of a PCP were more likely to be given high-value care and a quality experience. High-value services include items such as counseling, diabetes testing, and education, diagnostic tests, and the like.

Health Management is just one of the ways primary care is of high value for patients. As previously mentioned, a primary care physician is the first point of contact for the patients they serve. Over time, your PCP gathers a picture of your health making it easier to diagnose and treat disease and illness in a timely manner. Primary care takes a comprehensive look at health.

Prescriptions To Manage Your Health

Over time, the relationship you build with your primary care may be responsible for saving your life. At least 131 million Americans take at least one prescription drug. Research from the FDA shows that adverse drug reactions (ADR) are responsible for 100,000 deaths per year while more than 2 million reported cases of ADRs occur on an annual basis. With this in mind, who manages your prescriptions? How do you know if there are potentially deadly side effects from combining one of your prescription medications with another? One of the roles of a PCP is to assist you with the medications you take by keeping track of what you are taking. If there is an issue with prescribed medication from another physician, your primary care doctor can communicate with them and come to a decision that serves you best.

Did you know that mental health is something that many primary care physicians assess during well visits? PCPs do screenings for anxiety and depression and recommend a course of action if need be.

Manage Your Health With Your PCP

The bottom line is that primary care is incredibly important for your health both today and in the future. Even with studies that show having a primary care physician is best for your health, the number of Americans who work with a PCP is on the decline. From 2002 to 2015 the number of American patients who chose to forgo primary care fell by two percent. While this may seem like a small number, it translates to millions of citizens in the US without a first point of contact for their healthcare. We know that annual check-ups, preventative care, and diagnostic checks are important to your health. However, so is having a trust-based relationship with a physician who knows your health history in the event that something goes wrong.

Innova Primary Care values transparency and collaboration with the specialists and systems we partner with. It is crucial that the offices we work with share information in a timely manner so that along with you, we can make the best decision for your care. We operate under the “4 C’s” of Primary Care: We are your first point-of-contact. The care we provide is comprehensive care and continuous. And we collaborate with other physicians and our patients to offer the best healthcare experience to those we serve.