Building a relationship with a primary-care professional benefits patient, doctor and society.
Few debate the merits or importance of quality primary health-care services, especially for children. There are physical and emotional benefits to regular primary health-care treatment. Unfortunately, because of an increasing shortage of primary-care physicians, especially in rural areas, many people have difficulty accessing health care at the general-practitioner level. The Obama Administration has attempted to address that problem through health reform (the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the Affordable Care Act of 2009), targeting more than $300 million in education and training grants for primary care doctors.
Improved Health
Those who visit a primary care physician regularly are much more likely to be healthier than those who don't. The obvious reasons for the discrepancy include physical exams that uncover health problems, which can be treated before developing into more serious conditions. Medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure, to more serious issues such as cancer and heart disease, all can be diagnosed --- if not treated --- to one degree or another by a primary care professional.
Cost Savings
By receiving regular health care through a primary-care professionals --- including nurses and PAs (physician assistants) --- patients can nip problems in the bud, saving money in the long run. A condition such as high blood pressure, which usually is easily treatable through diet changes, exercise and drugs, can quickly become a serious, costly and life-threatening problem. Non-physician primary-care professionals are becoming more common, such as in Detroit, where Detroit Receiving Hospital offers primary care nursing services. Exams, diet counseling, immunizations and chronic and acute care services are performed by registered nurses.
Relationship Building
Getting to know your doctor benefits you and your physician. Not only does your doctor become familiar with your health history and lifestyle, you become comfortable with his approach to health care and his bed-side manners. Regular check-ups allow you not only to discuss medical issues, but personal topics that may have an impact on your health. You need to be comfortable with someone to honestly talk about some important problems.
Counseling
An ongoing relationship with a primary care professional also allows for counseling. Perhaps you want to start a diet to lose weight. Your doctor can advise you of the best options because he knows your physical condition and limits, your lifestyle (maybe you smoke or drink too much), your family situation --- such as having three small children at home --- and other factors that have an impact on such a decision. He may also advise you, or even refer you to, another professional, for such deeply personal issues as divorce or addiction.
Economic Advantages
Despite the desire of all compassionate people to provide the best health care possible for everyone, costs are a factor in any policy or political decision. As already mentioned, there is consensus that some preventive health measures are medically and financially sound. Screenings, regular doctor visits, exams and many drug treatments are unarguably effective and even life-saving. Most of these techniques address behaviors and lifestyles, such as smoking, drug use, obesity and exercise. All of these methods of primary care provide quantifiable cost benefits to not only individuals, but to society as a whole. There remains debate, however, about the cost-effectiveness of some preventive medicine and testing. While free health screenings provide a useful benefit to many people, and lifestyle changes and behavior modification are effective forms of preventive care, some experts --- including the "New England Journal of Medicine" --- argue against the logic of some preventive care measures, such as cancer testing that doesn't target at-risk populations.
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