Primary Care

Are primary care and preventive medicine the same thing?

Primary care and preventive medicine aren’t the same.

Primary care

Primary care provides various medical services to individuals and families, including physical exams, injury care, sex-specific screenings, and lab work. It serves as a home base for all your health care needs, ensuring you and your loved ones stay healthy. 

Preventive medicine

Preventive medicine is a primary care subspecialty. It uses lab tests and sex-specific screenings to identify health problems when they’re easiest to treat. 

What services does primary care provide?

The Dickinson Family Medicine Clinic team provides various primary care services to individuals and families, including:

• Treatment of acute illnesses and injuries (urgent care)
• Telemedicine
• Chronic disease management
• Nutrition and lifestyle counseling
• Immunizations (vaccinations)
• Sex-specific screenings (for example, Pap smears and prostate exams)
• Lab testing (for example, bloodwork, urinalysis, and bacterial cultures)
• Diagnostic imaging (for example, X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasounds)
• Prescription medications
• Medically supervised weight loss

The Dickinson Family Medicine Clinic team diagnoses and treats most health problems, but if you need more personalized care, they can provide specialist referrals and help coordinate your treatment.

What can I expect at a primary care appointment?

The Dickinson Family Medicine Clinic team tailors primary care to each person’s needs. 

For example, if you have an acute illness, like COVID-19, and you develop a fever or a severe cough, your provider prescribes antiviral medication and makes treatment recommendations to relieve your symptoms and speed up your recovery.

If you have high blood pressure or diabetes, the team recommends chronic disease management. Chronic disease management uses patient education, prescription medication, and healthy lifestyle changes to prevent chronic illnesses from worsening.

The Dickinson Family Medicine Clinic team can help regardless of your primary care needs.

What should I bring to a primary care appointment?

To get the most from your primary care appointment,  prepare in advance. The Dickinson Family Medicine Clinic team recommends gathering the following items:

• Photo ID
• Health insurance information
• List of the medications, supplements, and vitamins you take
• Health-related questions or concerns you’d like to discuss with your doctor
• Results from any recent or relevant tests

If you’re visiting Dickinson Family Medicine Clinic for the first time, arrive 10-15 minutes before your scheduled appointment so you have time to fill out paperwork. 

Call Dickinson Family Medicine Clinic to schedule a primary care appointment, or book one online today.