We all have had family doctors whom we have consulted for every health issue. Needless to say, that family doctors have been and will be the backbone of health care. They have patients among all age groups- from toddlers to elders in their 90s, and they typically see the same patients for years.
Family doctors know our health history, which helps them make accurate diagnoses, look for red flags, and track health changes. For example, if a parent has been diagnosed with diabetes, their offspring’s probability of developing it is very high. Accordingly, a family doctor shall ask the offspring to be cautious of their diet and weight as a precautionary measure against diabetes.
Many doctors train in a specialty like cardio specialists, pediatricians. However, family doctors are general physicians who are well-versed with all forms of medication to provide initial preventive and prescriptive care. They treat you more as a friend and well-wisher and form a loving relationship with you and your family. They also offer regular health checkups and advice on improving one’s lifestyle—which aids in the prevention of health problems even before they develop. Your family doctor will even refer you to a specialist in case you are in need of one or in case of emergencies.
World Family Doctor Day
World Family Doctor Day (FDD) is an annual event observed on May 19th. This day highlights the contribution of family doctors in healthcare systems around the world, delivering the best of personal and comprehensive care solutions to their patients.
This year the World Family Doctor Day assumes much greater importance, emphasizing the need of keeping oneself healthy to fight the global pandemic. This would not be possible with the help of family doctors who are advisors on multivitamin supplements, diet changes, and preventive medications.
When to see your Family Doctor
With the change of seasons, summer rashes, stomach upsets, sudden flu symptoms, and work from home stress- nagging back and neck pain are quite common. In this case, who is your first point of contact? Needless to say, you will get in touch with your family doctor to discuss the prescriptive treatment.
You and your family must visit your family physician at least once a year, especially elderly with comorbidities must visit their family doctors every 6 months for a routine check-up.
Digital Doctors and Healthcare Care
The covid-19 pandemic has revolutionized how healthcare is delivered across the masses with maximum people preferring teleconsultation and limited in personal doctor visits. Technological advancements have paved the way for digital health consultations using telemedicine to take initial care of chronically ill patients, such as inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome.
Video chat and teleconsultation allow patients to see a doctor from the comfort of their home; apps and wearable technology have brought a radical change in how we can self-monitor our health parameters and discuss them live with our doctors over a digital consultation. Besides, through digital consultation doctors can monitor how patients are feeling throughout the day and throughout the week in real-time.
Connecting with Family Doctors and Specialists
Changing work cultures and lifestyle adoptions have made many shifts to different cities making family doctor consultation restricted. If we fall sick, though, we may consult our family doctor over the phone, but we need to consult a local doctor for severe diseases or complications. For an accurate consultation with a specialist doctor around us, we need all our medical records in one place. Technology enables us to store our health records digitally in a secure format. E- healthcare apps like Gigadocs store’s healthcare records, previous prescriptions to let us access them anytime on the move, share historical medical records with specialists on mails and communication channels such as Whatsapp.
The digital age has deeply changed the patient-medical staff relationship. It has enabled us to stay connected with our family physicians even from distant locations and let us store our medical records for consultation with specialists. Another trend is seen, where technology has made it easier to use the internet to Google their symptoms, self-diagnose, and learn about treatment options, not consult a doctor, which is a worrying trend.
Doctors – be it family doctors or specialists understand the cultural backgrounds, age composition, comorbidities of their patients to engage in more effective better care.
We strongly recommend the Gigadocs app, where you can tele-consult for the best medical care. Virtual Consultation ensures that you don’t have to leave your home for an expert consultation. It is never advised to self-medicate, download and log into Gigadocs today and start monitoring and maintaining your family health all through one app.
Download Gigadocs App from-
- IOS App – apple.co/2W2iG4V
- Android App – bit.ly/33AQoRC
To know more and schedule a Virtual Consultation demo, Email, at info@gigadocs.com.
