Primary care services are an important part of your overall health and well-being. Primary care is focused on preventative care including annual comprehensive physical exams, vaccinations, physicals for sport participation and wellness. Your primary care provider will also provide ongoing care for routine medical conditions, monitoring of chronic diseases and illnesses and help manage asthma, allergies and other skin conditions. They are able to diagnose and treat acute illnesses and diseases and assist with any other medical questions or concerns. Primary care physicians are able to treat patients of all ages and stages of life, from birth through to old age. The name primary care physician is indicative of their role in their patient’s health – they are intended to be the first contact point for their patient’s regardless of the health concern, barring emergency treatment where patients need to go to a hospital emergency room. Primary care physicians will also help coordinate and catalogue additional specialized treatment that their patients require and will ensure the patient’s files are up to date with information on additional treatment being sought and administered.

You can and should see your primary care physician for any medical conditions, illnesses or injuries outside of emergency medical treatment. Your primary care physician will be able to refer you to a specialist if needed, while keeping an accurate and updated record of your health concerns. The role of a primary care physician is to be your primary source of medical advice and treatment. This ensures that you have consistency in your medical history as your doctor will have access to your full medical records to know what previous conditions or issues you have experienced that may impact current or future treatment options. A primary care physician is well-rounded in their training and experience to help their patients with preventative care, acute illnesses or injuries, chronic diseases and management of pre-existing conditions.

In most cases, primary care should be covered by your insurance plan, provided you have one. It is best to check with your insurance benefits provider as they may have specific clinics that they work with to provide medical coverage to their plan subscribers. In those cases, the insurance plan may cover the full cost of your visit, depending on your coverage level and the reason for your visit. A visit to a primary care provider if you don’t have benefits coverage will be significantly less expensive than a visit to the emergency room or to an urgent care clinic. With preventative care in mind, primary care visits are affordable to encourage people to make a habit of regular visits to their doctor as part of their overall health and well-being. Doing so can mitigate the need for more invasive and expensive treatments down the road if early signs and symptoms can be caught. Treating illnesses, injuries and diseases early on can prevent them from progressing at a rapid rate which can cause extensive damage or health issues if left untreated.

Seeing a primary care provider on a regular basis allows for regular monitoring of your health. Seeing your doctor regularly will also provide a record of your overall health to monitor for any changes to your vital stats that could be cause for concern, but it also ensures that you are up to date on any and all vaccines as needed, and you are receiving any additional tests needed based on your age and gender. Primary care services aim to keep individuals healthy through preventative care, as well as monitoring of any existing medical conditions or chronic diseases. Primary care physicians also treat patients of all ages, so you can keep the same doctor through a significant period of your life, allowing you both to get to really know each other and have a solid relationship based in ensuring you are as healthy as possible. Talk to our team of healthcare professionals today at Franklin Primary Care about primary care and its long-term benefits for your health. We encourage you to contact us through our website. We serve patients from West Hempstead NY, Franklin Square NY, Garden City NY, New Hyde Park NY, Uniondale NY, Mineola NY, and North Valley Stream NY.