Whenever you schedule a sick visit, medical treatment, or screening appointment, you are usually asked the name of your primary care physician (PCP) and may be asked for your doctor to give you a referral. This is because your PCP plays a vital role in your consistency of care as well as in developing the most effective, least costly, and least invasive treatment plan options for your medical concerns. Check out some of the top ways your primary doctor is helping you live your healthiest life.
Wellness Checkups
Screenings for Identifying & Monitoring Medical Conditions?Your annual visit, or at times more frequent visits, with your primary care physician (PCP) is an opportunity for your physician to perform a series of screenings and tests to ensure you are staying on track for optimum health. While you may feel strong and healthy, there is no way to determine how your body is changing internally as you go through life without such screenings. If signs of disease are caught in the early stages through such screenings, the chances of a full recovery or the ability to better manage the symptoms and condition progression are dramatically higher than allowing the illness to go unchecked until more noticeable symptoms appear. Moreover, your cost for treating or managing the condition will be significantly less than if you wait until the symptoms are evident.
General Tests & Screenings Without a Specialist or Urgent Care Fee
For such reasons as stated above, you may find your annual wellness visit is covered in your health insurance plan at no additional cost to you. Should your physician find possible signs of a medical concern, he or she will be able to order further tests and screenings as needed before sending you to a specialist.
It is important to note that these tests and screenings are often more expensive when performed by a specialist or at the emergency room and can also be more time-consuming and frustrating if the results indicate a different specialist is required than anticipated. Therefore, it is best to allow your PCP to issue and interpret such tests to determine the next step in your care plan instead of jumping straight to a specialist.
Assistance with Other Healthcare Professionals & Procedures
When required, your PCP can issue referrals for specialized services related to testing, surgery and procedures, ongoing treatments for chronic conditions, pain management, durable medical equipment (DME), and recovery. In fact, surgeons and other medical specialists will often require a referral before performing additional tests and procedures in order to gain a clear picture of the individual’s health history and treatment plan strategy and effectiveness. Such information can be critical to the success of procedures and treatments. For example, if the individual has a new symptom, the specialist can identify the onset and duration as well as better diagnose the underlying cause.
Consistency in Treatment Plan
Another major benefit of keeping your wellness visits with your PCP is your health records will clearly identify your treatment plan for any outside parties to review as needed. Such records will show what has and has not been effective in treating your condition(s). They should also indicate your healthcare preferences regarding your care and treatment options.
This information may be requested for confirmation purposes before a surgical procedure may be performed or before a treatment may be administered. However, each medical professional will be aware of the information ahead of your appointment saving you time and, by avoiding repetitive screenings, money. Perhaps most importantly, this sharing of information from your primary care physician will ensure you are provided with a consistent treatment plan that has been designed by you and your PCP together and will remain in place throughout all medical services when your PCP cannot be physically present to oversee your care.
More Affordable & Convenient Specialized Treatment
?For minor wounds, sick visits, and certain chronic conditions, your primary care physician can offer more affordable and convenient treatment options by performing the required services in his or her clinic. For Navarro Medical, our team is ready to assist you with such services as EKG tracing and interpretation, chronic disease management, non-pharmaceutical pain management, minor injuries, medical marijuana qualification, and continued psychiatric care.
Additionally, new patients are welcome and although appointments can help you save time waiting to be seen, Dr. Navarro accepts walk-ins. Need a virtual visit? No problem. Dr. Navarro and the Navarro Medical team offer telemedicine appointments for select monitoring and other wellness purposes. Discover more about the role a primary care physician plays in helping you stay healthy and the convenient wellness visit method that is best for you by reaching out to us at (863) 949-6541.