What Is A Family Physician?

A Family Physician is a medical doctor who can provide care to your whole family. Family Physicians are trained in the specialty of family medicine. Like other specialists, Family Physicians complete an extensive 3-year residency program in their specialty after graduating from medical school.

Family Physicians treat the "whole person"

Instead of specializing in only one medical area, Family Physicians are trained in all major medical areas - from pediatrics to internal medicine to obstetrics/gynecology, including prenatal and baby care. Consequently the care is for the whole person, female or male, newborn to grandparent.

Quality care for the whole person and the whole family

The practice of whole person, whole family care makes good sense economically as well as medically. Charges are frequently lower than you would pay for separate sub-specialists. Prevention of medical problems is more likely when your personal physician knows you, understands your lifestyle, and provides preventative health care throughout your life.

Make sure your family doctor is a family physician

The only true "family doctor" is a Family Physician. No other specialist is qualified to treat you and your entire family for such a broad spectrum of medical needs. No other specialist brings such a breadth of medical training to every patient.

Family physicians are highly trained and must stay up-to-date

Family practice is one of the few specialties that require its Board Certified members to pass a recertification exam every few years. So, you know you are getting up-to-date medical knowledge!

The secret to finding a doctor who understands the "total" you

In today's world of tight schedules and managed care, it may appear that doctors are too busy to do more than "touch base" with a patient. Sometimes doctors run late, receptionists are too busy to smile, hardly anyone has time to listen - and they are all part of a system that may seem to be more attentive to the patient's health insurance than the patient's health.

Treating you like a real person

Is it possible to find a doctor who takes time to care for the total you? "Yes!" according to millions of women who have chosen a Family Physician as their personal doctor. If you long for a relationship with a doctor you feel comfortable confiding in - a doctor who treats you like a real person, instead of a "the check-up in room 3" - then you'll be glad to have a Family Physician. They take time to listen, and they believe in treating each patient as a total person, not just a narrow set of symptoms.

Qualified to manage total care

Family Physicians bring a breadth of experience to every patient--female or male, newborn or grandparent. To become specialists in Family Medicine, they complete an extensive three-year residency program after graduating from medical school. But unlike other specialists, Family Physicians are trained in every major medical area, including internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, sports medicine, orthopedics, critical care medicine, cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, and general surgery - just to name a few! No other specialist is so well qualified to diagnose and treat you, and your entire family, for a broad spectrum of medical problems. And your costs will normally be lower than they are when you pay for separate specialists.

America's number one physician

Each year millions more people visit Family Physicians than doctors in any other medical specialty, making Family Physicians the most popular physicians in America. Their breadth of training, preventive approach to health care, and reasonable fees make Family Physicians the best value in medicine today.

It isn't a secret anymore

Finding the doctor who understands the "total" you is as simple as finding the doctor who specializes in you--a Family Physician. This may be the most important health care decision you'll ever make. And that's no secret.