By definition, family practice is the medical specialty that deals with the total health care of the individual and family. Family medicine integrates the biological, clinical and behavioral sciences and is not limited by the patient's age or sex, organ system, or entity of the disease. A family doctor is a type of primary care doctor. Focus on providing care for your whole family.
Therefore, they are trained to maintain the health of patients of all ages, from newborns to geriatric patients. Family doctors are also general practitioners, which means they can treat almost any medical condition for patients of all ages. Family practice is the medical specialty that provides ongoing, comprehensive health care for the individual and family. It is the broad specialty that integrates the biological, clinical and behavioral sciences.
The scope of family practice covers all ages, both sexes, each organ system and each pathological entity. Providers include family doctors, physician assistants, and professional family nurses. At the beginning of the 20th century, almost all physicians in the world were general practitioners, but the increasing volume of medical knowledge and reforms in medical education, such as those initiated in the United States by the Flexner Report of 1910, drove growing specialization in medical practice. .
Primary care not only treats the patient when they are sick, but it works with the patient when they are healthy to establish strong health maintenance skills through the practice of disease prevention and health education. Family practice, also called family medicine or general practice, a field of medicine that emphasizes comprehensive primary health care, regardless of the patient's age or gender, with special emphasis on the family unit. Primary care practices are generally located in the patient community, facilitating access to health care and maintaining a wide variety of specialized and institutional consultation and referral relationships for specific care needs. Primary care practices are organized to meet the needs of patients with undifferentiated problems, and the vast majority of patient concerns and needs are addressed in the primary care practice itself.
By being clearly focused, the definition can guide the nature of clinical care in general practice, as well as the content of undergraduate and graduate training in family medicine. This fundamental characteristic of general practice encompasses patient-centered care and continuity throughout the family life cycle. This is likely due to several factors, including lower prestige associated with the specialty, lower salary, and the increasingly frustrating practice environment. The American Board of Family Medicine requires its graduates to maintain certification through an ongoing process of continuing medical education, review of medical knowledge, oversight of patient care through cadre audits, practice-based learning through quality improvement projects and retake the exam board certification every 7 to 10 years.
Let's look at the difference between family practice and general practice, the types of services they provide, and the patients they serve. As family physicians play a very important role in providing affordable and universal health care to individuals, the Government of India is now promoting the practice of family medicine by introducing postgraduate training through DNB (National Diploma Board) programs. The structure of the primary care practice may include a team of doctors, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. .
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