General Practice Surveys

“Family physicians provide a unique role in public health including disease prevention, health promotion and the provision of medical care for urgencies or emergencies. As the most versatile example of primary care, the availability of family medicine physicians is associated with improved health outcomes and life expectancy and reduces all-cause cancer, heart disease, stroke and infant mortality rates. The specialty’s impact on mental health is significant as family dynamics often plays a significant role in chronic illness. Psychotherapeutics is fundamental in the treatment approach. The ‘tenured’ family relationship results in less fragmented care and division of responsibility, lower referral and consultation rates, lower laboratory and imaging utilization and less prescriptions. The focus is on the whole person in the context of the unit of care, the family, rather than disease management. The result is a strong physician-patient relationship promoting an improved quality of life. A growing number of US-based family physicians have become surrogate internists, caring for a pool of only adult patients. Additionally, the skills and knowledge base in obstetrics are quietly being eroded and with it care of the newborn. Procedural skills are often deferred to the referring subspecialist. Remuneration in healthcare emphasizes procedures rather the time intense bedside skills of cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy, marriage counseling etc. lastly, the specialty is not promoted on par with other specialties, making it appear as a second tier or class specialty” Family Medicine in Saudi Arabia- Next Steps. J Community Med Health Educ Birrer RB, Al-Enazy H, Sarru E.

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Last date updated on September, 2024