Your health and wellbeing are vital to a good quality of life. To be healthy, you must do a lot of things. Examples including eating healthy, exercising, being happy, and managing health conditions you may have. A medical professional who is very closely related to your overall health is your primary care physician. This is the doctor you visit most often. When you need an annual checkup, the flu shot, or medication for cold or congestion, you visit your primary care physician (PCP). This doctor is your first line of defense when it comes to illnesses and conditions.
So, what exactly does a PCP do to help your health and wellbeing? Here is how a PCP can help you manage your overall health better.
Preventive Care
It is always best to stop an illness from coming than it is to treat it once it develops. Preventive care involves taking steps to stop diseases and conditions from becoming a reality. It involves making lifestyle changes and taking medications that will help you stay safe from illnesses. This is the approach of any good PCP. The benefit of going to a PCP is that you will get regular checkups and will share symptoms you are experiencing. A PCP will also assess your family health history and recognize any specific conditions you are at high risk of getting. All of these factors play a role in your overall health. A PCP tracks all this information and recommends lifestyle changes, tests, medications, screenings, and treatments to ensure you don’t get sick, and if you do get sick, you catch the illness early on before it progresses.
Management of Chronic Conditions
A PCP is responsible for not only fixing health issues that are acute (like a cold, congestion, a wound, etc.) but also for helping you maintain good health while you live with a chronic condition that is going to be a part of your life forever. Many of us have chronic health conditions. PCPs help us manage them. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, a thyroid disorder, or another chronic condition, you will need to continuously manage the condition, so you don’t have symptoms or put your life in danger. PCPs help you do this by routinely conducting tests to see if you are doing well, evaluating and changing your medications as needed, and assessing your symptoms to ensure any issues are caught and dealt with as quickly as possible.
Primary Care Physician in Midlands, South Carolina
Think of a PCP as a lifelong ally who is looking out for your health and wellbeing in the long-term. It is critical that you have an experienced, approachable, and caring PCP, so your health and wellbeing are in good hands.
If you are looking for a trustworthy and experienced PCP for yourself or a family member, consider the experts at SC Internal Medicine Associates and Rehabilitation.
We can help you get and stay in good health.
Call (803) 749-1111to request an appointment with one of our providers. We look forward to helping you soon!
