Internal Medicine
What Is Internal Medicine?
Throughout our adult lives, we tend to be very concerned about the possibility of becoming seriously ill or contracting a disease that can debilitate the body or mind in the long-term. These patients should seek the medical attention and expertise of an internal medicine practitioner in Parker, CO. Internal medicine has a generalist branch, but doctors who specialize in this medical field may also turn their focus to one particular area of internal medicine, such as one certain illness or part of the body.
Internal medicine addresses the full range of diagnostic and treatment needs of adult patients over the age of 16. While internists treat all adult patients, Rocky Vista Health Center specializes in elderly patients and patients with complicated medical issues. If you are suffering from a medical issue and need specialists at a health center who focus on your needs, call us to make an appointment with our internal medicine doctors.
What Is Internal Medicine in Parker, CO?
To begin, let us define what exactly internal medicine is to make sure that you can determine if you may need to see an internal medicine doctor or simply your family physician in Parker, CO. Both types of doctors are primary care physicians, but those who become internists are specialists who only treat adults. A typical primary care family physician treats the entire family, including children, for a wide range of medical issues. Internal medicine is a field of medical practice focused on treating adults, and these doctors diagnose and treat diseases that afflict all adults. It can be a chronic medical condition or something short-term.
When it comes to internal medicine, most doctors will subspecialize in order to focus on one part of the body or one illness that can affect the adult population. As an example, a cardiologist focuses on heart-related issues and understands how that one organ can affect and be connected to other organs or systems within the body.
It may be necessary for a patient to visit more than one internal medicine doctor, depending on their medical condition. The specific medical training of a subspecialized internist physicians allows them the ability to give specific medical guidance for the condition of a patient and offer ways to prevent the disease and continue routine medical care.
Visiting multiple internal physicians may not be cost-effective or time-efficient, but it may be the best way to handle your condition with a physician who has years of training and experience with the specialty that benefits you the most. If you were to seek the medical care of your primary care or family physician rather than an internal medicine doctor, he or she would likely refer you to the specialty services of an internist anyway to ensure that your needs are attended to in the best possible way.
How Specialized Is the Training of Internal Medicine Physicians?
Following the completion of a bachelor's degree at a university, the internist will then enter medical school for four years followed by a residency program for about three years at a hospital. They will get their medical licenses and become board certified in internal medicine during that residency.
If the internist has chosen to subspecialize, it will require another one to four years (depending on the subfield) of additional training in that field. The training for internal physicians involves solving difficult medical problems which then trains them to handle all types of medical issues, especially in their subspecialty.
What Does an Internal Medicine Doctor Do?
Answering the question of what an internist does as a primary care physician depends largely on what type of internist you make an appointment with. The training of an internal medicine physician allows him or her to diagnose and treat patients with specific medical conditions and diseases. If the internist has a specialty, then that will be their focus and a patient can definitely benefit greatly from their expertise and training.
Internal medical care professionals are also excellent at providing information on preventative care. Anything from cancer screenings to mammograms, the internal doctors can help patients both in and out of the hospital make places for regularly scheduled preventative care.
Benefits of Seeing an Internal Medicine Specialist
When you opt to make an appointment to take advantage of the specialized services of an internist for your health care in Parker, CO, you will be able to receive the following benefits that a family care doctor or non-internist at hospitals may not be able to provide you:
- Preventative and Routine Medicine
- Self Care Education
- Cholesterol Screenings
- Blood Pressure Screening
- Coordination With Specialist
- Physicals
If you have a condition that your family doctor cannot handle, contact our internal medicine doctors at Rocky Vista Health Center in Parker, CO. We have some of the best physicians and providers of internal medicine for you and the other adults in your family.
In addition to internal medicine, we also have specialists in the fields of primary care, sports medicine, osteopathic medical services, podiatry, and telemedicine in Parker, CO. Our primary care and other physicians are dedicated to providing you the best possible medical services in Parker, Colorado, to help you maintain your overall health and well-being.
Our state-of-the-art medical facility offers the first point of contact for your adult health care needs, and we want to get to know you and understand how best to serve you. We have allopathic physicians and osteopathic physicians who are board-certified in internal medicine, and our services range in the widest possible spectrum to ensure your needs are covered in Parker, CO.
In addition to our physicians, Rocky Vista Health Center is located on the campus of Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (the No. 1 rated osteopathic medical institution in the country) and houses the Sky Ridge Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency Program, so you may also be working with a resident who is a licensed physician working under the direction of a Board Certified Physician Instructor.
When you are in need of internal medicine, primary care, or any other type of medical care, contact Rocky Vista Health Center in Parker, CO, today.