Family Medicine vs Internal Medicine
Both
family medicine and internal medicine physicians are general practitioners, providing
primary care services through well visits and treatment of minor illnesses. They are both experienced in a wide variety of medical backgrounds, and through regular visitation they can partner with you to monitor your wellbeing and evaluate any new symptoms or conditions.
So what sets a family medicine physician apart from an internal medicine doctor?
Do You Need Pediatric Care?
Although it varies slightly from practice to practice, family medicine physicians typically see patients from birth through late in life. Internal medicine doctors specialize in adult heath, and therefore do not see patients under the age of 18.
Family First
Due in part to the fact that family medicine doctors see patients of all ages, they make great doctors if you are looking to simplify your families care by having all family members see a single physician. Their familiarity with your family also makes them experts in knowing your family history more thoroughly.
Outpatient vs Inpatient Training
Family medicine doctors receive the majority of their training on outpatient medicine. They specialize in health maintenance and disease prevention, which puts them in a great position to act as a primary care provider. When there are times in which a patient needs to be admitted to the hospital for inpatient treatment, they benefit from established continuity of care between themselves and specialists.
An internal medicine doctor, on the other hand, receives training in both outpatient and inpatient settings in order to better care for adults who may be more medically complicated and therefore have a higher risk of needing inpatient care. This extra training enables them to care for patients in both settings as well as help patients navigate from outpatient to inpatient settings and vise versa.
Contact Us
If you would like to talk to a representative about your primary care options, please call
773-878-3627.
