The Importance of Having a Primary Care Physician

While visits to urgent care centers and medical specialists have risen in the past few years, it may be tempting to use them to replace having a primary care physician. However, urgent care, medical specialists and primary care physicians each offer a unique set of services and benefits that should be utilized appropriately.

So how do you assess who to see when you have a medical issue? Here are three key considerations to take into account – quality of care, cost and convenience.

• Quality of care: Urgent care centers offer a broad range of services to treat your medical concerns. However, the quality of care is not comparable to a physician who knows you, your family history, your lifestyle habits, and provides treatment with all of these in mind. Similarly, medical specialists have a detailed focus in a specific area of health, so the quality of care may be optimal for one medical condition, but that same quality doesn’t necessarily transfer to your overall health and wellness.

• Cost: There may be a short-term cost benefit to visiting a local retail clinic to receive a vaccination or annual physical, but when it comes to general healthcare, this option could end up costing you more. A primary care physician provides the same or similar services, but also focuses on prevention and overall wellness. He or she monitors your existing conditions to avoid complications and pricey emergency care in the future.

• Convenience: Urgent care centers and local retail clinics are popping up everywhere – at your neighborhood drug store, down the street from your local grocer, or maybe even next to your workplace – so convenience is their nature. On the other end of the spectrum, it can take weeks or months to get in to see a specialist. However, concierge physicians provide unparalleled convenience by offering 24/7 access to a primary care doctor and same day appointments with a familiar face you know and trust.

The next time you are faced with making a decision about healthcare, remember these key factors. Not only does concierge medicine restore the patient-doctor relationship while offering quality care, cost benefits and convenience, it also provides comprehensive, continuing care that urgent care clinics and medical specialists are unable to provide.

For more information about Principal Medical Group and how to receive the best possible care, visit www.principalmedicalgroup.com.