What is a primary care physician and why is she or he so important?
- A primary care physician, or main doctor, takes care of your health care needs and gets to know you well.
- You may think that you should not see your main doctor until you are sick. That is not true.
- Get to know your main doctor even when you are well.
- Seeing your main doctor for checkups allows problems to be found early. If you need special care, your main doctor will help.
- Go for yearly checkups to stay healthy. Go to your main doctor for checkups, tests and test results, shots and – of course – when you or your child is ill.
- You do not have to go to the emergency room unless you have something that is so serious that your life is in danger.