powerbelly51 said:
AggieMavsfan said:
Could someone give a brief explanation of what the advantage is of having an internist as your primary care physician as opposed to a family doctor? I've googled it, but I'm not sure I'm totally clear.
What I've gathered is that if you're seeing specialists for chronic conditions, you need an internal medicine doctor because their education is more specialized in prevention and management of adult specific diseases. Meanwhile, family practitioners study to treat people of all ages including children, and may be more used to doing routine office visits and giving general pep talks about making healthy choices. Internists are better equipped to advise you on chronic conditions or refer you to the proper specialists and can communicate more effectively about your case with the specialists you see. Is this correct?
I don't need a doctor to give me common sense pep talks about healthy living. I want to go to a doctor that specializes in preventing and treating adult diseases.
Yeah, I totally agree. That's why I'm asking if I have my facts straight, or if I'm blowing the differences between an internal medicine doctor and a family practitioner out of proportion. I'm asking because I've been looking to switch and am leaning toward an internist. The family practitioner I've been seeing gives me the vibe that he's used to just doing annual physicals, dispensing Adderall prescriptions, and giving pep talks about diet and exercise (which may be all some people need, but isn't a good fit for everyone).