The Role of a Primary Care Physician

Relationships Are Key… Especially With Your Physician
A Primary Care Physician, or PCP, specializes in diagnosing, treating and preventing a wide variety of conditions. But the importance of a PCP extends beyond his or her ability to cover lots of different conditions. Establishing care with a PCP affords you consistency and efficiency on a number of levels:

• Familiarity: Knowing who you are is one thing, but knowing the intricacies of your health and wellness is another. A PCP’s goal is to deliver the care that’s right for you – not employ a one-size-fits-all approach. Tailored health care is easier when you have a meaningful relationship with your provider.
• Prevention and condition management: A PCP is responsible for screening all major health-related conditions. If you already have a chronic condition, your PCP helps manage it and improve your quality of life. A PCP can also screen for many things including obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. It is his or her job to look at immunization records and help with regular immunization updates.
• Caring for you as a team: PCPs are part of an expert team that can meet your exact needs. These teams are commonly comprised of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses. Contributing unique perspectives, the team approach provides you with well-rounded health care.

Now that you know how helpful it is to have a PCP, do you need to find one? Go to www.aetna.com, click on “Find a Doctor” then “Search for Doctor, Dentist, or Facility”. From there, you need to log-in as a Member, or click on “Find Doctors.”