Why Do You Need a Primary Care Doctor?

Physician checks patient during a preventative care visit

What is a primary care physician?
What are the benefits of primary care?
Why do you need a primary care doctor?

AMA Medical Group is an independent, physician-owned primary care practice. Our doctors have joined the ranks of an estimated 209,000 primary care providers that offer services to 325 million Americans. What is the importance of primary care and how does it differ from other medical specialties?

Debbie G. has been a patient of the AMA Medical Group since 2015. The practice serves as the starting point for all of her healthcare experiences. She says, “I can get the lab work. I’ve had EKGs done here. It’s kind of nice to have everything done on-site.”

She says her long-term connection to the AMA Medical Group is important to her overall health. By having one set of providers to return to consistently each year, she’s assured of the best quality care that is consistently focused on maintaining her health with a proactive, rather than reactive, approach.

What Is a Primary Care Physician?

Primary care physicians, also called family practice doctors or PCPs, are the frontline of healthcare for millions of Americans. Their medical training allows these physicians to prevent, diagnose, and treat a diverse array of general human illnesses. A family practice doctor can monitor long-term chronic diseases, perform some lab tests, spot numerous health problems, develop treatment plans before an illness turns into something serious, and even conduct minor procedures like treatment for strep throat.

Debbie G. praises the convenience of the kind of “one-stop-shop” AMA Medical Group provides. She says, “The thing I really like, since I started coming here, is they have the lab on-site, so I’m able to come here for everything.”

Primary care offers a diverse array of expertise to help with general medical needs. Some of the specialty skills available in a primary care practice setting could include:

Behavioral health
Community health
Family medicine
General obstetrics and gynecology (ob/gyn)
Gerontology
Internal medicine
Nursing
Nurse practitioners
Optometrists
Pediatrics
Pharmacy

The AMA Medical Group is a free-standing independent practice. Some of the services our practice offers include:

Coumadin therapy
Counseling services
Dermatological treatment
Disease management
Electrocardiogram (EKG)
Health screening
Immunizations
Joint injections
Nursing home care
Physical exam
Well woman exam

The services offered by each primary care practice differ depending on the expertise of the providers and the service lines they offer their patients. Primary care providers can offer an array of care to their patients, including:

Acute injury or Illness care including lab work, prescribing medication, doing testing, splinting injured limbs
Conduct mental health screenings
Prevention screenings for depression, diabetes, high cholesterol or blood pressure, cancers, and more
Providing vaccinations
Treating infections

Primary care doctors can also connect patients with a variety of other services within the healthcare and social services safety net. Practices like the AMA Medical Group kind of serve as a home for people as they begin their healthcare journey.

Over the years, patients may visit many types of specialty care providers, but it should be the primary care practice they always return to for consistent and high-quality care.

Patient consults with physician durning preventative care visit

What Are the Benefits of Primary Care?

It’s the consistency of seeing a regular, trusted provider that is so important to long-term health. Primary care providers are trained in a little bit of everything so that they can provide treatment for common injuries and illness but also so that they can coordinate a patient’s healthcare care in one central place.

This consistency creates a trusted doctor-patient relationship that gives patients a higher level of comfort.

Patients like Debbie have long-term valued relationships with these providers, which is why she says, “I like the nurses and I’ve enjoyed my time coming here a lot.”

Practices like the AMA Medical Group offer Debbie a comfortable, safe space to go to for preventative and wellness care or injuries or illness.

Annual check-ups are vital for preventative care. The goal of a primary care doctor is to catch problems early before they turn into a more severe chance of injury or illness. One study showed that if everyone in the U.S. saw a family practice doctor regularly the country would save approximately $67 billion each year.

Statistics show that this consistency of regular care can save lives, cut down on health risks, and even save money:

People that have a primary care doctor have a 19% lower chance of premature death than those that only periodically see a specialty provider
People that have a primary care doctor save 33% on their healthcare costs over people that don’t have a family practice to go to
Going to a primary care provider potentially saves up to 720% over going to an ER for treatment

It’s true that ER visits are about four times as expensive as primary care visits. Yet many people continue to go to the ER because it’s convenient or open past normal business hours when many primary care practices are closed. Yet many ER visits are for simple sprains or visits for respiratory illnesses such as colds, flu, or asthma. Perhaps that’s why U.S. News & World Report says, “Other more optimal options exist for care. The most important healthcare relationship remains the bond between the patient and primary care provider, or PCP.”