Family medicine

Family Doctor:

The concepts of "family medicine" and "family doctor" have long been firmly established in the European medical care system.

What is a "family doctor"? This is, first of all, a highly qualified doctor with knowledge and skills not only in the field of therapy, but also in the field of related narrow specialties. He has been studying his profession for about 10 years, so his knowledge is broad and versatile. The first stage of training is to obtain a medical degree, followed by a three-year specialization in family medicine, which includes six months of training in related specialties. The family doctor treats, among other things, simple forms of highly specialized diseases, conducts various diagnostic tests (ECG, FVD, ultrasound, etc.).

A family doctor, as a rule, constantly monitors all family members and is a personal doctor. His tasks include a full primary examination, annual diagnosis, medical procedures and treatment. The family doctors of the European Medical Center know the entire medical history of their patients. They will always refer the patient to a specialist when the issue requires a more thorough and detailed study.

Family medicine makes it possible to reduce the time spent by the patient on examination and diagnosis several times. Due to the fact that the family doctor provides continuous monitoring of the patient's health, the disease is fixed at an early stage, and this is the key to effective treatment.

Regular examinations help to identify many diseases at an early stage, which means to prevent their development and maintain health for many years to come. It is encouraging that more and more people in Russia have become responsible about their health and prefer to undergo annual comprehensive medical examinations. For this purpose, EMC offers its own diagnostic programs for both individuals and corporate clients.

In 1991, the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of Family Physicians (WONCA) adopted a document defining the requirements for a general practitioner. This document emphasized the comprehensive nature of medical care, which includes, in addition to treating diseases, rehabilitation, prevention and health promotion.

Thus, a family doctor is a highly qualified specialist with the necessary knowledge and skills not only in the field of therapy, pediatrics and geriatrics, but also in the field of related narrow specialties such as ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, neurology, dermatology, cardiology, etc. In addition, the competence of the family doctor includes issues of hygiene, therapeutic nutrition, psychology and pedagogy.

A family doctor, as a rule, constantly monitors all family members, being their personal doctor. Its tasks include the initial examination, the organization of annual diagnostics, the conduct and organization of medical procedures.

If the disease goes beyond the competence of the family doctor, he organizes the referral of the patient to a specialist and monitors the treatment carried out by this specialist. At this stage, the competence of the family doctor is extremely important, because the efficiency, "targeting" and effectiveness of subsequent treatment depend on the accurate establishment of the primary diagnosis and referral to the really necessary specialist.

General practitioners are also responsible for completing the necessary medical documentation and patient medical records. At the European Medical Center, family doctors keep documentation not only in Russian, but also in French, English and other languages, which is convenient if it becomes necessary to issue an extract from a medical history or medical record for treatment abroad.

One of the main tasks of a family doctor is to make annual or, if necessary, more frequent routine checkups of his patients. Such regular examinations help to identify many diseases at an early stage and, accordingly, prevent their development, preserving health for many years. And very often, early detection of the disease, when the patient still has no symptoms, for example, in the case of cancerous tumors, becomes literally a matter of life and death for the patient. It is worth noting that in Japan, where life expectancy is one of the highest in the world, a "check–up" for older people is held every six months or even a quarter.

The European Medical Center has its own health diagnostic programs, the most comprehensive of which takes a day and a half. At the same time, the EMC family doctor, based on your life history and illnesses, if any, can supplement or change the diagnostic program so that the examination is as effective as possible.

The main advantage is that, thanks to their versatile knowledge, family doctors have the opportunity to comprehensively approach the health of their patients. It is also important that family doctors "guide" patients for a long time. This allows the doctor to be aware of all their individual characteristics. If a doctor observes the whole family, it is highly likely that he can predict and prevent the development of certain inherited diseases (the EMC has also developed genetic testing programs). All this together allows the family doctor to make a faster and more accurate diagnosis in each specific case. In addition, knowing your weaknesses, the doctor can deal not only with the treatment of certain diseases, but also with prevention, including exacerbations and relapses of chronic diseases.

Perhaps someday the doctors of the future will read our modern medical articles with recommendations on treatment, examination and prevention of diseases with a condescending smile, just as we now read the treatises of doctors of previous centuries.

Medical concepts, views on the causes of the development of pathological processes, approaches to diagnosis and treatment are becoming obsolete, but there is a principle of medicine that lies firmly at its very core, which has not changed for many thousands of years, formulated in ancient China - prevention is better than treatment.Pretty simple, right? What's in life?

We sometimes come to the clinic when the disease has already gone so far that it does not allow us to live or work at full strength, when the disease itself led us to the doctor. The struggle for health begins, sometimes for life. A struggle that takes away strength, time, and, what's to hide, quite a lot of money. How often do you want to ask a patient about what prevented him from coming a week, a month, a year earlier. After all, it was possible to stop the disease a few months ago! It may be difficult sometimes, but it was possible to cure and save!

Seeking medical help late is one of the saddest topics in medicine. Unfortunately, doctors at any clinic face this every day. At EMC, we strive to instill in patients a culture of annual preventive screening examinations, and we do everything possible to detect the disease at an early stage, i.e. when doctors' care for patients is most effective.