When Is It Time To Consolidate Care With One Family Physician?
If you and your spouse have been seeing separate doctors, and your children have been seeing a separate pediatrician, it may be time to look at all of you choosing one family doctor instead of going to all of these different places. While it's nice to stay with your own doctor who knows exactly what's going on with your health, sometimes it's a good idea to consolidate your family's care with one office. If you or another family member are dealing with an ongoing health problem, then it may be best for that person to stay with his or her current doctor and not interrupt care. But if you aren't in that situation, see if the following circumstances apply to your family.
Growing Family Size and Shared Infections
It's a fact of family life: you're going to share illnesses. Think of the colds that seem to make the rounds every few months as one child brings it home from school and spreads it. If you have one physician for the family, he or she can help you get a handle on the circus of germs. The doctor will be more familiar with how each of you handles illness, too, and will be able to point out hygiene issues or suggest improvements to help keep those shared colds under control. Plus, if more than one of you is sick at the same time, you can set up simultaneous appointments and save some driving time.
Health Insurance Considerations
Another reason is that it may be easier insurance-wise. If you can get all of your family members going to the same office on the same family plan, that could make it easier to meet your deductible, or you could find that the particular doctor you choose is fantastic at getting the insurance company to approve procedures and medications. This depends on the plans you're able to get, of course, but there is value in having to deal with only one doctor's office when it comes to insurance.
Dealing With Inherited Conditions
Having one doctor for everyone helps if there is an inherited condition in your family. Your doctor can track it or track the risk of developing it. If he or she has a new or experimental way to help people with the illness, then you won't have to worry about getting approval from different insurance companies to see different doctors. Since that family physician will be the primary care provider for all of you, you can just make an appointment.
It's Easier for Teenagers, Too
One more reason to have a family physician is that these doctors treat both adult and pediatric patients, which gives you better continuity of care for your kids as they turn into teenagers. There's no awkward phase where your teen is still seeing a doctor who specializes in treating younger age groups.
Start looking around for a family physician, like those at Choice Medical Group, if those circumstances apply to your family. You'll find the level of care to be very good.
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