Maintaining Your Primary Care Relationship

Heather Straight, DO from the Department of Primary Care at Memorial Health System’s St. Marys location shares the importance of maintaining your relationship with your primary care provider, even if referred to a specialist.

What is primary care, and what role does a primary care provider (PCP) play in a patient’s life?
Primary care is the cornerstone of healthcare delivery for patients of all ages, from infants to the elderly. A primary care provider, a physician or advanced practice provider, is uniquely positioned to be a patient’s first contact in addressing disease prevention and treatment. We are patient advocates and have the honor of forming trusted relationships often with multiple generations of families. We treat every patient as if they are our family!

What are the benefits of having a PCP?
Establishing a relationship with a primary care provider early is of great benefit to both the patient and the provider. It is so helpful for PCPs to get to know a patient over time, starting when they are well. From there, we can guide our patients on preventative paths, often putting them in a position to avoid health problems down the road. We also become very familiar with normal baselines that are different for every individual, allowing us to more quickly recognize and intervene when things are not going so well for our patients. A long-standing relationship with a PCP allows the patient to develop trust and comfort, leading to improved confidence in our guidance.

Why would a PCP refer a patient to another provider/specialist?
Healthcare is a team sport and every member of our team matters! As a PCP, when we recognize that a patient’s needs exceed what can be delivered within the scope of primary care practice, we then engage the support of a specialist. Primary care providers will often have completed the appropriate testing, as well as managing medications, prior to a referral. We rely on our medical specialty colleagues to provide the next level of care that our patients require and deserve.

Does a referral mean a patient can no longer discuss that health concern with their PCP?
On the contrary, the patient should always have the opportunity to engage with their primary care provider to discuss referrals and subsequent recommendations or changes to their care plan. Regularly scheduled visits with a primary care provider ensure they have the opportunity to review and discuss recommendations from other members of the patient’s healthcare team.

How will the referred provider and PCP communicate to maintain a continuity of care?
After every medical specialty visit, the consultation note is provided to the referring PCP for review. Those records are reviewed as they are received, allowing the primary care provider to remain up to date in real-time with any changes to the patient’s care plan. We are blessed at Memorial Health System to have a wonderful team of primary care and medical specialty providers who communicate well and often, providing the best possible care for our patients.

Needing a primary care provider, but don’t know where to start? 
Visit Find a Provider to explore your options with Memorial Health System! 

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