5 Reasons You Need a Primary Care Provider—Even if You’re Healthy!
A Primary Care Provider is the main checkpoint and record keeper for your overall health. Building a relationship with a Primary Care Provider is the foundation for building better wellness through keeping intentional checks on your health—and where it’s going.
Why is finding a good Primary Care Provider so important?
- When you go to the same provider for years, they’re able to see changes in your health over time—they know what your “normal” is. By watching the evolution of your health over the years, they’re able to spot when things might become an issue before they becomes more serious, which could help you stay your healthiest for years…not to mention save you thousands of dollars in advanced medical care costs because many chronic conditions can be spotted early and therefore maintained and treated properly.
- Your Primary Care Provider can cater screenings to what you need, instead of just general age group screenings. Your personal and family medical history plays a major role in these decisions, and only with a long-term understanding of you and your health can a Primary Care Provider make the best recommendations. For example, if your risk factors indicate you might need a mammogram sooner than 35, a Primary Care Provider who knows you best can get you exactly where you need to go. As far as referrals go, they have you covered and you’re less likely to fall through the cracks and behind on your much-needed health screenings and specialist needs.
- While you may need specialists for certain aspects of your health, you can also find Primary Care Providers who have special interests and extensive experience that align with what you need. From dermatology to endocrinology to mental health, finding the right Primary Care Provider for you means that you are able to get more targeted help for matters you need from a provider well-versed in those conditions or specialty areas.
- Once established, you have a home base anytime you need a prescription refilled or a vaccine updated. Your clinic can take care of basic necessities in one call and may even anticipate your needs for you!
- You have an advocate for your health in the health system.
“When you have a problem, I get you on the right track to the right doctor or the right specialist that can take care of that. I also think it’s really important to have one person that knows the most about you. So I may not have all the answers, but I’m going to be your first step to make sure we get the answers you need and that it’s followed up on.”
Tana Cooper, DO, Family & Occupational Medicine Physician
Your Primary Care Provider is more than just a doctor for your annual wellness visit—they’re the ones who work with you on your health all year long.
Looking for your perfect Primary Care Provider? Find a Singing River Primary Care Provider and get started today!
Content inspired by Healthcare is Selfcare: The Podcast
Hear more from Dr. Cooper on Episode 4:
Captain of the ship, gatekeeper, knower of a little bit of everything—in this episode of Healthcare is Selfcare: The Podcast, we sit down with Family Medicine Physician Dr. Tana Cooper to find out why you truly need “one person who knows you best”—a Primary Care Provider—to help you stay on track with screenings, health concerns, specialized needs, and more. Launching 4/13/22.
Prefer to read? Check out the episode transcript here.
