San Diego – October, 2017 – As an adult, you can choose a family medicine doctor or an internal medicine doctor as your primary care physician. Here is some useful information to help you understand the benefits of seeing an internal medicine doctor.
Patients
An internal medicine doctor, or internist sees adults -- patients who are 18 years and older.
Medical Care
Internal medicine doctors provide a wide range of primary care, including preventive care as well as the treatment of complex and chronic adult diseases - like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol.
Benefits to Patients
Internists serve as primary care doctors for adult patients, but they also bring the additional advantage of special training that makes them experts in dealing with patients who have multiple or complex medical problems or uncontrolled medical problems.
An internist treats a variety of conditions, from something as routine as a cold to in-depth care for chronic illnesses, such as heart disease or diabetes.
Internal medicine doctors can solve complex diagnostic puzzles, for example, patients who have multiple symptom complexes but are having trouble getting diagnoses. They are able to do this by looking at the whole patient and not just the organs involved.
Internists can also coordinate many subspecialists in order to treat a certain ailment or disease. Patients like to know they have a long-term relationship with a doctor who can provide complex care.
Training
Internal medicine doctors undergo a three-year residency after medical school. This includes working in the hospital as staff doctors as well as in a clinic where they treat outpatients. During these years, they train in critical care which makes them experts in caring for the sickest of the patients. They also undergo rotations in different specialties like cardiology, endocrinology, and gastroenterology.
Subspecialties
Internists often focus on general internal medicine. However, many of these doctors have additional training to subspecialize in one of 13 different areas. These include:
• Adolescent medicine
• Allergy and immunology
• Cardiology
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Geriatrics
• Hematology
• Infectious disease
• Nephrology
• Oncology
• Pulmonology
• Rheumatology
• Sports medicine
Difference between Internal Medicine Doctors and other Primary Care Physicians
Internal medicine doctors focus on the whole patient, regardless of how simple or complex the issue.
Internal medicine doctors handle severe chronic illnesses and situations. They bring patients to an understanding of wellness, as well as treating substance abuse, women’s health, mental health, and common problems of the ears, eyes, skin, reproductive organs, and nervous system.
To know more or to consult an internal medicine doctor in San Diego, call Pacific Medical Care at 619-333-8114 or visit www.pacificmedicalcare.net. San Diego Internal medicine doctors focus on the whole patient, no matter how simple or complex the issue. They can help to prevent health issues before they arise and also manage chronic illnesses.