The role of a doctor is undoubtedly demanding, yet their significance in our lives cannot be overstated. However, this post blog is not about how to look for any doctor; it is about how to look for a primary care doctor and the different qualities that set primary care providers apart from their secondary or tertiary care colleagues.
As medical technology increases, the number of people who can afford a full range of health services diminishes. This led to the separation of healthcare into primary, secondary and tertiary care more than a century ago, so the limited healthcare resources in a society would be made available to as many citizens as possible. Whereas tertiary care is provided by subspecialists and secondary care by general specialists, primary care is provided by generalists.
Although many tertiary care subspecialists (such as cardiologists and urologists) and many secondary care specialists (such as internists, paediatricians, and obstetricians and gynaecologists) present themselves as primary care providers, 3P4Care adheres to the original definition of primary care being provided by general practitioners or family physicians only. No doctor knows everything: specialists and subspecialists provide ‘narrow’ care by knowing ‘more about less’; but a primary care doctor provides ‘broad’ care by knowing ‘less about more’.
At 3P4Care, we prioritise protecting and maintaining our patients’ good health and well-being. Conveniently situated in Avondale, 3P4Care Avondale provides accessible, compassionate, and cost-effective primary care health services to individuals and families. Led by our board-certified, licensed, and seasoned family doctor, we prioritise a holistic approach to healthcare, aiming to understand and address the comprehensive well-being of each individual we serve.
Whether you need a routine checkup including vaccination, acute illness care or chronic disease management, here are the essential qualities you should look for in your primary care doctor.
Easy Accessibility
In order for primary care to reduce the need for secondary and tertiary care, a primary care facility should be open, within reasonable limits, some hours on weekday evenings on weekends to facilitate convenient access for the community.
Comprehensiveness of Care
Historically, a primary care doctor is defined as one who does not exclude any patients from his/her care based on age, sex or organs involved. Therefore, broad training in all disciplines, including (internal) medicine, paediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology is absolutely necessary for a primary care doctor to safely care for patients of all age groups and genders. Only a general practitioner or family physician so trained meets these broad qualifications. Specialists in internal medicine, paediatrics and obsetrics and gynaecology should practise ‘narrower’ secondary care.
Competence in Managing Undifferentiated Problems
Unlike speciality and subspeciality care, primary care deals with a high prevalence of undifferentiated clinical presentations that do not fit into any textbook disease categories. A general practitioner or family physician’s broad training in different disciplines is essential in navigating with patients in situations where clear definitive diagnosis may not always be possible.
Understanding Prevalence and Incidence of Diseases at the Community Level
Traditionally, specialists and subspecialists provide secondary and tertiary care in the hospital for sicker patients with rarer diseases, whereas the general practitioner or family physician provides primary care in the community for more stable patients with more common conditions. Over-referrals lead to unnecessary expenses and increased complications from subsequent diagnostic and therapeutic procesures. In order for family doctors to safely reduce the need for referrals to secondary and tertiary care, they need to have insight into how frequently various diseases occur at the community level. Therefore, look for a primary care doctor skilled in distinguishing dis-EASE from disease.
Cost-Effective Care
If you have no insurance, you definitely hope your doctor to prescribe inexpensive testing or treatments. Even if you have insurance plans, coverage for services is increasingly being denied. Time is a good diagnostic test and a therapeutic measure. Give the initial symptoms some time to resolve on their own or to further unfold will help reduce the
number of diagnostic investigations needed. Look for a primary care doctor with skills in doing this.
Symptomatic Relief
Because of the undifferentiated nature of many dis-EASES at the community level that may not be diagnosable, a skilled primary care doctor should help the patient decide when to pursue further diagnostic testing, when to provide symptomatic relief sparing the patient further investigations, or when to do both. A primary care doctor should be competent providing symptomatic relief.
Advocacy for Patients
Apart from communication skills essential for a doctor to build rapport with patients from diverse backgrounds, a primary care doctor creates a comfortable and trusting environment for patients to discuss their health concerns openly and to be their advocate in navigating the complex medical and social care systems.
Personal Knowledge of the Patient
Look for a primary care doctor interested in his/her patients. Although family practitioners do not enjoy clinical expertise in certain age groups, genders and organs like specialists or subspecialists, they specialise in their patients, with personal knowledge of them built up over time that enables management plans to be personalised according to patients’ cultural values, health beliefs and preferences.
Excellent Communication
A good doctor should possess exceptional communication skills. They should be able to explain medical information clearly and effectively, ensuring that patients understand their diagnosis, treatment options, and any necessary instructions. A doctor who actively listens to a patient’s concerns and addresses them with patience is highly desirable.
Often, they’ll come across patients who struggle with communicating, whether through neuro-degenerative problems, language barriers, or simply an unwillingness to divulge information. Your doctor must be a skilled communicator to extract and impart patient information, adapt to the situation, and find alternative ways to communicate successfully.
Compassion and Empathy
Seek a doctor who genuinely cares about patients. A compassionate doctor understands the emotional needs of individuals and is willing to support them during vulnerable moments. More importantly, he/she should be empathetic by being able to see things from the patient’s perspective.
Patient-Centred Care
Medicine used to be an art. Towards the end of the 19th century, it began to be viewed as a science. However, a strictly scientific approach may remove the humanistic approach of medical care, neglecting patients’ cultural beliefs, values and preferences. Culturally competent care means the medical professional is willing to address the patient’s ‘unscientific’ concerns and meet the patient half-way in arriving at a mutually acceptable negotiated management plan. Look for a doctor who is genuinely interested in such patient-centred approach.
Professionalism
The term ‘professionalism’ and the phrase ‘being professional’ are flaunted so frequently these days they have become rhetoric without substance. Medical professionalism is more that the superficiality of a doctor in spiffy attire wearing a white coat. Although it comprises multiple attributes, in a society where payment methods for the provider could lead to over- or under-utilisation of services to the patient, look for a doctor who is transparent about how he/she gets compensated and who will place the patient’s well-being and health outcomes above his/her financial interest.
Considering these qualities, you can identify a good doctor with the necessary skills and attributes to provide exceptional medical care and support.
Community-Based Primary Health Care Services in Chicago,IL
At 3P4Care Avondale, we take pride in our dedicated team’s efficiency as we strive to establish a personal connection with each patient and provide them with the exceptional care they deserve.
Our comprehensive services include paediatric healthcare, annual wellness checkups, evidence-based screening tests to detect silent diseases, and personalised care for women’s health and geriatric patients, including convenient home visits.
We leave no stone unturned in ensuring all your healthcare needs are met!
Schedule your appointment today.
Photo by Abby Anaday on Unsplash
