Focus on Preventive Medicine: Why you need a Primary Care Physician*

Focus on Preventive Medicine: Why you need a Primary Care Physician*

According to Reuters, there has been a 2% decline in the last decade of individuals who do not have a primary care physician (PCP). While 2% seems fairly low, to provide perspective, that translates to millions of people, or about the entire population of New Jersey. It’s been reported that this decrease is coming from the younger, “healthier”, population. There are more benefits than just “checking off the annual physical box”, that accompany establishing a relationship with a PCP.

What is a Primary Care Physician (PCP)?

PCP stands for primary care physician. A PCP is a healthcare professional that is there to assist you in managing your health. This person would be someone you can contact if you have a medical non-emergency inquiry. The benefit of having a long-standing PCP is the relationship and trust that is built over the years. As a healthcare professional, they will be able to provide advice and suppt to your questions over the years. Your PCP will know your history and be able to make suggestions based on what has or has not worked best in the past. PCPort can span a multitude of topics including your current health, your medical history, your family’s medical health history, treatment, preferences, daily challenges you may be facing, and your personality and lifestyle.

Studies have shown that individuals with a PCP are much happier and healthier than those without one. There is about a 10% boost in patient satisfaction within healthcare when they have their own PCP provider. Finding the right PCP can seem daunting, however, your local practice should be able to assist in guiding you in the right direction, along with confirming insurance coverage. There are many different types of PCP’s including family practitioners, pediatricians, internists, geriatricians, obstetricians, gynecologists, and nurse practitioners.

Benefits of using a Physician Results Form  

While implementing and creating programs with clients at Wellworks For You, one option we provide tracking for is the Physician Results Form. The Physician Results Form is an alternative method of completing a biometric screening. Participants can go to LabCorp, attend an onsite screening, or visit their PCP to complete a biometric screening, however, clients are often interested in advertising the Physician Results Form above the other options. The reason is, the establishment of a strong relationship between the participant and their doctor early on proves to be extremely important to companies and their employees. The participant simply takes the Physician Results Form to their visit, the doctor will complete the form along with their biometrics and lab work, sign the form and the participant will send this back to Wellworks For You. From there, we will enter all the data into the participant’s Wellness Portal so that participants can track their progress and health goals year over year.

This form can also serve as an aid to further conversations between the participant and physician, including a review of their lab work, ensuring all of their preventive care visits are up to date, and checking in on specific medical conditions that require attention or advice. Wellworks For You also offers a Biometric Review Form, which can be used if the participant completed their lab work elsewhere. They can then take their lab work and the review form to their PCP, where they can discuss the metrics and any next steps, if necessary. The PCP will then sign this form, and the participant will return to Wellworks For You for credit.  

Your PCP will be an aid to you to ensure you are staying healthy and is there to provide support when a health issue does arise. Creating a relationship with a primary care doctor will significantly impact a participant, and can lead to a deeper understanding of their overall health and establish accountability for goals. It has been reported that 89% of patients value their relationship with their PCP and that the access to a PCP has shown to be highly effective patient outcomes. All in all, there are many positives and benefits of establishing a PCP relationship, and Wellworks For You is here to assist in tracking the visits and the metrics collected year over year!

Sources

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/16507-the-importance-of-having-a-primary-care-doctor
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-pcp-trends/declining-numbers-of-americans-have-a-primary-care-provider-idUSKBN1YK1Z4
https://www.elationhealth.com/independent-practices-blog/patients-value-pcp-relationship/

Kimberly Scott
Kimberly Scott
Director of Product Management

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