WHAT IS INTERNAL MEDICINE?
Internal medicine, loosely put, involves the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of internal diseases. Internal medicine treats both acute and chronic illness, but can help intervene before a disease becomes chronic. Internists are doctors who primarily specialize in this field. Typically, general internists deal with patients who are 18 years or older. On the other hand, family practitioners are doctors who typically treat patients of all ages who are often members of the same family.
For many people, an internist is also their primary healthcare provider. In 2019, JAMA Internal Medicine reported that fewer people saw a primary care physician between 2002 and 2015. The majority of these people who didn’t see a primary care physician were in their 30s. Let’s take a closer look at how a concierge medical service with a focus on internal medicine can help patients.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO SEE AN INTERNIST FOR MEDICAL PROBLEMS?
Over the years, people have stopped seeing their primary care physician for a wide variety of reasons. These reasons include:
- Taking time off work to go to the doctor’s office was too inconvenient
- The cost of seeing a doctor
- Being assigned a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner
- Often times, time with the doctor was rushed
In the JAMA Internal Medicine report, there were many benefits listed as to why patients should have some sort of relationship with a primary health care provider. These included:
- When a patient gets sick, a doctor can better diagnose and treat a patient if they have a baseline understanding of their medical history.
- Having a relationship with a healthcare provider can make it easier to conduct follow-up appointments.
- Patients who have a relationship with their healthcare provider are generally happier with their healthcare experience overall.
CONCIERGE MEDICINE AND INTERNAL MEDICINE BRIDGE THE GAP IN THE DOCTOR PATIENT RELATIONSHIP
Overall, many people might avoid visiting a primary healthcare provider because they don’t feel they get the attention that they need. A past Health Services Research study found that the average doctor visit lasted slightly less than 16 minutes, with no more than 5 minutes being spent on the topic of primary concern. Another alarming trend of a shorter doctor visit is that people no longer really receive the education they need on their healthcare topic of concern and educate themselves on the issue.
Insight Life Care offers a solution for those who want a better option to the traditional primary care model. At Insight Life Care, our membership-based concierge internal medicine services include:
- Access to a doctor of internal medicine, not a physician's assistant or nurse practitioner.
- Lengthy appointments to address preventative care, as well as diagnosis and treatment of any disease or health care issue.
- Same day and next day appointments.
- Health care that is affordable, convenient, and gives you the attention that you need.
- Insight Life Care gets you access to an internist who is also a Fellow of Hospital Medicine, who can take care of you in the hospital.
