In many cases, the limits of the responsibility of a family doctor are not known, nor is there any certainty as to when to go to a doctor instead of a specialist. Therefore, here we collect all the information necessary to be informed about the functions of family doctors and on what occasions you should visit them instead of going to the emergency service to reach a specialist.

Keep in mind that constant check-ups and evaluations with experts are the most reliable choice and practises to keep your body under control. Here at Northcote Doc you will find second to none services by the hand of experienced professionals that will ensure you are properly evaluated and remain healthy.

Responsibilities of the family doctor

The family doctor is a generalist responsible for providing comprehensive and continuous care to patients and is able to offer a good part of the overall assistance, including a diagnosis, without having to intervene a specialist doctor, which is a saving of time for the patient.

Primary care is essential in all cases because it is the first encounter that the patient will have with health services and will, therefore, be the first reference in the recovery process.

After a review, the family doctor must make the decision of whether clinical exams and analyses should be carried out that allow him to delve into the diagnosis. With all these results, he will be able to determine if it is necessary to subject the person to a treatment that he himself will prescribe or direct him to a specialist who will then be in charge of giving a wider diagnosis.

There are those who first go to the specialist thinking that this will save time, but nothing is further from reality because many times the person does not know the source of their problem and can go to the wrong doctor, thus delaying the start of treatment, which can be counterproductive for the patient himself.

One of the most important functions of these health professionals has to do with preventive medicine, helping people avoid diseases and lead a healthy life. This not only greatly affects the quality of life of patients but also prevents the collapse of health services.

Reasons to go to the family doctor

The family doctor should be the first choice of every person when they present some type of condition that does not require emergency care. We are talking about common pathologies such as the flu, the cold, stomach upset, not very high fever, rashes, pains in certain areas of the body, allergies and other ailments that can be diagnosed and controlled without the intervention of specialists.

If all these ailments had a more severe manifestation – such as intense pain, breathing problems, loss of consciousness and / or visibility, uncontrolled bleeding, tachycardia, possible fractures, symptoms of severe poisoning or poisoning – then it is necessary to go directly to the services of urgency.

One of the advantages that the family doctor has over the specialist is that he has a global vision of the patients, since he has a broader health history, which allows him to know the ailments he has suffered and the treatments that he has received, in addition to knowing what his main problems are, such as, for example, if he is allergic to certain medications.

The family doctor is key to the diagnosis of any pathology and is the professional that can best help you in recovery and lead a healthier life.

3 Cases Where You Should Go to Urgencies Directly

Although the situations by which you should go to an emergency department can occupy entire books, today we will talk about only five of them, which are usually quite common. This does not mean that there are not many others.

Chest pain

Chest pain, especially if it occurs in men over 50 years, is reason enough to go to the emergency room -either to a hospital or a health centre-, as it can mean that a heart attack is occurring.

Although pain can vary -from the prick, the burning or the sensation of oppression-, symptoms like the cold sweat, the sensation of dizziness and a pain of chest type pressure that can radiate towards the arm, the back or the jaw are indicative that something is not right. Also, there are other diseases that can give chest pain, such as anxiety, gastroesophageal reflux or some lung diseases. Any chest pain is not a heart attack.

Lack of strength or numbness

A stroke is, in short, a type of injury that instead of affecting the heart affects the brain. There may be either a heart attack, such as in the heart attack, or a cerebral haemorrhage. Both things are called strokes.

In these cases, symptoms would be lack of strength or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body, confusion or difficulty speaking or understanding, difficulty in seeing one of the two eyes, severe difficulty walking, loss of coordination or balance and dizziness; and sudden and intense headache.

In all cases the symptoms occur quickly and out of nowhere, which should make us suspect this disease, although it does not always have to be the source of these symptoms. It is important to recognise it in time, since the first three hours are crucial.

Bleeding

Although the blood is striking, it is not always a reason to go to the emergency department -such as a slight minor wound-. When we talk about important bleeding, we refer to vomiting with blood, rectal bleeding, spitting with blood or abundant bleeding after some wound in any part of the body. Also, there are bleeds that can sometimes be difficult to recognise, such as bloody vomiting or bloody stools, where the bleeding is black.

North Cote Medical is the place where you will find second to none services by the hand of professional experts that will ensure you are properly evaluated and remain healthy.