Seven Reasons Why It's Important to Have Your Own GP

• By 13CURE
• General Health
• Jul 01, 2019

Why is a GP important? If you ask many people, they may not be able to give you a clear answer. Your health is important and it's essential that you have a dedicated GP (general practitioner) on your side to help you navigate the healthcare industry. If you need a few excellent reasons to find and use a GP, we've picked out the top ones and outlined them below.

Reason One - GPs Know Your History

When you visit different doctors, every practitioner won't know all the details of your history aside from what you tell them right at the visit. When you have a GP, they can send all relevant medical records to a specialist but when you don't have a core physician who you see every time you visit the doctor for general medical needs, you're basically starting the doctor-patient relationship from scratch every time.

A regular GP will go over your entire medical history the first time you sit down with them. Then, they'll build on your medical record each time you come in to see them. They can keep track of everything that does and doesn't work for your medical conditions, and they'll know about any allergies you have, along with the details of your history. In turn, they can tailor your treatments to your needs.

Reason Two - GPs Are Generalist Medical Professionals

When a practitioner excels in a specific field, they concentrate on that area of your body before anything else. While this is fantastic if you have one specific issue, it's important to see a generalist to help recognize when your health changes and to identify what's going on when you suddenly start experiencing symptoms.

As generalists, GPs are trained to focus on all areas of your body with a broad field of view. They amass a wide range of knowledge that they can apply to you to help discover the underlying cause of your symptoms.

Reason Three - GPs Can Seamlessly Coordinate Care

If a physician doesn't know you or your history, it's difficult for them to coordinate your care with specialists or other medical facilities. This can cause delays that slow down how quickly you get the treatment you need. It can even result in service denials if the doctor doesn't have a medically-necessary reason for it.

Your GP is the person who will coordinate all of your continuing care based on your medical history and knowing you as a patient. They can refer you to allied health professionals or a medical specialist, and they give a central point of contact for other healthcare professionals to use. This reduces the chances of communication errors or missed paperwork.

Reason Four - GPs Can Offer Preventative Health Advice

When it comes to your health, preventing problems is usually much easier than trying to fix something once you have an onset of symptoms. It's difficult for a doctor who doesn't know your history to offer preventative health advice because they aren't familiar with you. They may not know about your family history, any previous illnesses, or problems you may have had.

There are several areas where you GP can give you preventative health advice on, and they include but are not limited to:

• Immunisations to prevent diseases
• Prevent or detect early cancers by doing skin checks, breast checks and PAP smears
• Reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease by giving up smoking, checking your blood pressure on a regular basis, lowering your cholesterol and maintaining a healthy weight
• Prevent diabetes and early detection steps
• Prevent osteoporosis

All of these things are relatively easy and straightforward for your GP to do because they have your entire medical history laid out in front of them, and they know exactly what they have and haven't tried with you yet.

Reason Five - GPs Can Manage Chronic Illnesses

When you have a chronic illness, you can go through a host of medical testing and specialist referrals that give you a huge and complicated medical history. It's extremely hard to detail this all to a brand new doctor each time you see them, and errors or forgotten information are a common problem. You could end up having the same tests performed more than once.

A GP excels at managing chronic conditions like Asthma, Diabetes and Arthritis, and they can put together a Care Plan tailored to your needs. Having a Care Plan in place involves you more in decisions regarding the management of your condition, and it gives you access to a team-based approach that includes a network of qualified specialists.

Reason Six - GPs Reduce the Margin for Errors

In the healthcare field, errors can be life-threatening. If you go to a doctor that doesn't have your medical file and they rely on you to tell them everything, it can result in errors. Unless you have a copy of your updated file with you, the margin for error is high. This is especially true for prescribing medications.

GPs have a recall system in place that can assist in double checking everything in your chart before they try a new treatment plan or medication. They're less likely to make errors concerning your health because they know you.

Reason Seven - Knowledge of the Local Area

Some hospitals and clinics employ traveling doctors who don't know the area very well. They may not be able to tell you what services or specialists you have available to you. In turn, this can slow your treatment because it narrows down your prospects.

GPs usually work and live in the same communities, and they can give you lists of specialists. For example, they may know about counseling services for emergencies and mental health issues that other doctors don't know about. They may even be able to refer you to them.

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So, why is a GP important? We've outlined seven excellent reasons why you want to consider finding one. They're essential for your health, and they can help you navigate the sometimes confusing area of healthcare. If you'd like to find a GP for yourself, get in touch or book your appointment today!

Name: Dr. Muhammad Mohsin, General Practitioner

University Degree: MBBS, AMC

Bio: Dr. Muhammad Mohsin completed his studies from Univerisity of Health Sciences, Lahore Pakistan in 2008. He came to Australia in 2012 and has worked as a resident and GP in various hospitals and medical centres across Australia. He has a particular interest in men's health, travels medicine, chronic disease management, and general family medicine.