So many of us decided to push back
regular screenings and primary
care checkups during the pandemic.
And now doctors say yeah can't wait anymore.
When you wait, you miss out on
steps to keeping yourself healthy.
And we're going to talk about the
importance of primary care and the types
of services those physicians provide.
We have Doctor Stacy Blythe from health
from Cone Health here with us today.
She works in the lab.
Our primary care department at
Med Center high point, alright.
So first and foremost,
let's just talk about this. Alright?
We heard the term primary care provider, but.
What medical specialties and types of
care professionals does that include?
So it's a pretty good list.
It's family practice,
which is what I am.
And then there's internal
medicine who does just adults.
Family practice.
Does adults and kids.
There's something called Med PEDs,
which is adults and kids again.
Then there's pediatricians who do depending
on their practice up to roughly age 18.
By end will take care of women,
especially in sort of their reproductive
years as primary care doctors,
especially those are the main ones,
and they'll be both medical doctors.
Doctors of Osteopathy Deos and
then of course what we call apes
or physician assistants and nurse
practitioners will work with us in
those roles to do primary care as well.
OK now I didn't realize
that Umbrella was that big.
I was just thinking you robe Kwinten
was one kind of specialty Dr and then
the other one was your primary care.
So that's good to be able
to kind of figure that out.
Yeah, well and and and it's it's
some people handle it differently,
but quite often what we'll do
is 'cause family practice. Does.
Teens, kids, teens and young adults.
I'll keep young women until they're
getting close to thinking about
kids and then when they're ready
they'll transfer off and do a lot
of their care with OB while they're
in those years having their kids.
And then they'll come on back.
Of course, they're always welcome here,
but of course it gets hard
to schedule so many visits,
so we try to work with people so they
can do what works for their lives.
Alright, so at what age should someone
consider having a primary care provider?
So I don't think that has age limits.
I think from birth to the grave.
Like a little kids, of course.
I mean, we've all or many of us have
been there when we have little kids.
I have my first grand kid recently and my
daughters anxiety is through the roof, right?
So newbies and little babies.
You just need that all those
shots and all that. Handholding,
then as we get into the teen years,
I thought about this a lot with the
pandemic we've all watched how much kids
and teenagers have really suffered,
so having that ongoing relationship
with their primary care doctor,
that's another trusted adult in
their milieu is going to be very,
very helpful to get them through
some of these trying times.
And then young adults, even all the time.
They feel like they don't need us.
They'll be young and healthy forever.
And goodness knows.
I hope that's true for as long as possible.
But we all know curveballs come in life.
And so,
to have that established relationship,
if something difficult happens
anywhere in your young adult,
life is still really,
really helpful to answer questions
and block out some noise around
what's real information.
And then, of course,
as we get older and start moving
into all the aging, fun and games,
we need more screening tasks.
Then we need more.
For blood work and we need to
keep a closer eye on things
than of course more than ever.
You need a primary care provider,
but I just think there's not an
age where there isn't a benefit
because you hate to be searching for
a doctor when you think something is
starting to be wrong and not have
that relationship already established.
OK, so you just touched a
little bit on screenings,
so let's talk about that. During COVID.
A lot of people put off getting
their preventative screenings
in their annual physicals.
So just how important is it that
we get back on track with that?
Really, in my world, incredibly important,
so I I'm sad to say I have seen as
people have come back and kind of gotten
outside and back into the medical world.
We are seeing more breast cancers and
more colon cancers and things that
just got pushed off a little bit.
So I really encourage people get back in.
Let's make sure everything is good.
Mammograms of course.
Find breast cancer.
Early colon colonoscopies.
Not only can they find colon cancer early,
they can actually prevent colon cancer.
So there is important as anything,
even though I know that's one of the
things people are most worried about.
We get in there. We take out that polyp.
You're not getting cancer next year.
That's a beautiful thing.
So it's really important that
people get back out and let us start
doing all that screening again.
Yeah, and that hits very close
to home with our own Julie Luck,
who went for a preventative
colonoscopy and found out that
she had stage 3/8 colon cancer.
And she she is now in treatment now
and her big. Thing is, get screen.
Do not wait so we wanna make
sure that you guys hear that
from our own Julie Luck as well.
OK, let's talk about additional
health care services.
How does having a primary care
provider help with additional
services that you might need?
So you know, of course it depends a
little bit on your insurance product,
but many of them will require a primary
care referral to see a specialist.
It's also true that quite often people won't
know which specialist to see for which thing,
so I serve as the gatekeeper to tell you OK,
given that symptom, I think ear,
nose and throat will do you more good
than an allergist might, for instance,
and I can kind of help navigate those waters.
I can help you find someone who is in
network, maybe close to your home.
Your insurance carrier might cover that.
I have.
Nathan and I think it just helps
people navigate this really complex
medical environment with a little
more confidence 'cause they know I can
help them figure out how to get to
someone that they really can count on.
Yeah,
'cause you hate to be thinking to
yourself that you're diagnosing
yourself online, right?
Or just looking down a list
of names that you just don't
know and picking somebody.
Absolutely OK, yeah, all right,
we're going to take a quick break.
We're going to continue on
though with talking about primary
care and needs and things of
that nature will be right back.