{"id":269,"date":"2016-12-19T21:37:26","date_gmt":"2016-12-20T05:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/product-content01.castlighthealth.com\/?p=269"},"modified":"2019-11-07T23:49:39","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T07:49:39","slug":"how-to-choose-a-primary-care-physician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-primary-care-physician\/","title":{"rendered":"How to choose a primary care physician"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Everyone needs a primary care physician. Think of this type of doctor as your first point of contact for anything related to your health. Primary care physicians (PCPs) provide the ongoing preventive care you need, treat you when you\u2019re sick, help you manage ongoing health issues, and connect you to other doctors that provide more specialized care.<\/p>\n<h2>Primary care doctors go by many names<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Internal medicine -\u00a0<\/strong>An MD who specializes in adult medicine and preventing and treating adult diseases<\/li>\n<li><strong>Family medicine -\u00a0<\/strong>An MD who diagnoses and treats conditions in both adults and children. This is a great option if you want your whole family to see the same doctor<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geriatric medicine -\u00a0<\/strong>An MD who specializes in caring for the elderly and in preventing and treating diseases that affect older people<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nurse<\/strong><strong> practitioner or physician\u2019s assistant -\u00a0<\/strong>A nurse or other medical provider who has had additional training to diagnose and treat most of the same conditions as an MD. They often work in a larger practice alongside other doctors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to choose a primary care physician<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Must-haves:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>In-network -\u00a0<\/strong>Your preventive care will likely be free and you\u2019ll save out-of-pocket costs in the long run<\/li>\n<li><strong>Provider quality -\u00a0<\/strong>Look at patient reviews, certifications, board affiliations, and other quality ratings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Consider your preferences:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Distance -\u00a0<\/strong>Would you rather have your doctor near home or work?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gender -\u00a0<\/strong>What would be more comfortable for you?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Experience -\u00a0<\/strong>How long has the doctor been practicing?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type of practice\/clinic -\u00a0<\/strong>Does the doctor have an independent practice, or does he or she work at a clinic with other physicians?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Convenient services and resources -\u00a0<\/strong>Does the doctor\u2019s practice have a nurse line you can call for advice or telehealth? Online appointments? Secure messaging or email?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everyone needs a primary care physician. Think of this type of doctor as your first point of contact for anything related to your health. Primary care physicians (PCPs) provide the ongoing preventive care you need, treat you when you\u2019re sick, help you manage ongoing health issues, and connect you to other doctors that provide more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8],"tags":[25,454,290,408,35,38],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-featured.jpg","acf":{"post_subtitle":"Everyone needs a primary care physician. Here are some tips on how to choose yours.","post_hero_image":{"ID":368,"id":368,"title":"how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image","filename":"how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image.jpg","filesize":25950,"url":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image.jpg","link":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-primary-care-physician\/how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image\/","alt":"A man in a red button-up shirt discusses his health with his primary care doctor.","author":"49","description":"A man in a red button-up shirt discusses his health with his primary care doctor.","caption":"Primary care doctors provide ongoing preventive care, treat you when you\u2019re sick, and help manage ongoing health issues.","name":"how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":269,"date":"2016-12-20 22:23:43","modified":"2017-06-13 16:44:24","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":960,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":63,"medium":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":125,"medium_large":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":267,"large":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":267,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/how-to-choose-primary-care-doctor-hero-image.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":400}},"post_cta_status":"true","post_co_branding_status":"false","post_type":"post","post_conclusion_status":"false","mobile_content":{"mobile_story_label":"","mobile_post_title":"How to choose a primary care physician","mobile_carousel_image":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/How-to-choose-a-primary-care-physician-210x210.jpg","mobile_hero_image":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/How-to-choose-a-primary-care-physician-300x300.jpg","mobile_content_body":"<p>Everyone needs a primary care doctor. Think of them as your first point of contact for anything related to your health.<\/p>\n<p>They provide ongoing preventive care, treat you when you\u2019re sick, help you manage ongoing health issues, and connect you to other doctors who provide more specialized care.<\/p>\n<h2>Primary care doctors go by many names<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Internal medicine <\/strong>-\u00a0A doctor who specializes in adult medicine and preventing and treating adult diseases.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Family medicine <\/strong>-\u00a0A doctor who diagnoses and treats conditions in both adults and children. This is a great option if you want your whole family to see the same doctor.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geriatric medicine <\/strong>-\u00a0A doctor who specializes in caring for the elderly and in preventing and treating diseases that affect older people.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A nurse<\/strong><strong> practitioner or physician\u2019s assistant <\/strong>-\u00a0A nurse or other medical provider who has had additional training to diagnose and treat most of the same conditions as a primary care doctor. They often work in a larger practice alongside other doctors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to choose a primary care doctor<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Must-haves:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>In-network -\u00a0<\/strong>Your preventive care will likely be free, and you\u2019ll save out-of-pocket costs in the long run.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Provider quality -\u00a0<\/strong>Look at patient reviews, certifications, board affiliations, and other quality ratings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Consider your preferences:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Distance -\u00a0<\/strong>Would you rather have your doctor near home or work?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gender -\u00a0<\/strong>What would be more comfortable for you?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Experience -\u00a0<\/strong>How long has the doctor been practicing?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type of practice\/clinic -\u00a0<\/strong>Does the doctor have an independent practice or do they work at a clinic with other physicians?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Convenient services and resources -\u00a0<\/strong>Does the doctor\u2019s practice have a nurse line you can call for advice or telehealth? Online appointments? Secure messaging or email?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"},"card_title":"How to choose a primary care physician","header":"Worth the look","footer":"2 minute read"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}