Choosing a Family Medicine or Internal Medicine Doctor Kolkata

Posted by shivam pandey on August 26th, 2021

When you are looking for a primary care doctor, you need to understand the difference between an internal medicine doctor and a family medicine doctor. While both are considered primary care doctors and have several subspecialty training, there is an important difference between the two doctors.

Historically, internal medicine and family medicine were developed from entirely different backgrounds. While internal medicine grew on the development and application of science, family medicine grew out of general practitioners in the 1960s. The scientific approach to medicine was unique at the time and was applied progressively for the development of treatment for a wide spectrum of diseases. The development of family medicine allowed the doctors to have the intent to deal with an entire spectrum of medical issues that the different members of a family might encounter. 

The confusion occurs as many of the patients who visit a family physician are adults which overlaps the focus of patients from internists. 

What Is Internal Medicine?

Internal medicine doctors or Internists are adult care and treatment doctors. While some internists do treat children, their specialization mainly lies in adults and they need dual training in internal medicine and pediatrics to do so.

What Does An Internal Medicine Doctor Do?

Internal medicine doctor Kolkata specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases in adults and seniors. Their training offers efficient care and treatment for a wide variety of health conditions and they can counsel patients on their overall wellness and disease prevention. Internists need to complete three years of residency before they can practice medicine. Moreover, they need to undergo specialized training such as neurology, oncology, psychiatry, dermatology, cardiology, and more. 

What Is Family Medicine?

Family medicine doctors take care of people of all ages from infants to the elderly. Their care encompasses the primary four branches of medicine:

• Adult medicine

• Adolescent medicine

• Geriatrics

• Pediatrics

Family medicine doctors can provide extensive care for patients throughout their life and sometimes multiple generations of a family simultaneously. 

Doctors need to complete three years of residency and medical school. The residency training for family medicine includes pediatric medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, emergency medicine, psychiatry, radiology, ophthalmology, urology, surgery, and more. Since they tend to a wide variety of patients of all ages and conditions, they need to train for a broader range of diseases and treatments.

Choosing a Family Medicine Doctor or an Internal medicine Doctor Kolkata

When you are trying to decide which doctor to visit, ensure that you understand what they do and the difference between them. Their significant difference in training and clinical approach can make a huge difference in your treatment and recovery. Their unique set of skills and discipline provide them strengths in different fields and forms of caring for the patient. Best internal medicine doctor Kolkata focuses on adult medical issues comprehensively. Their nature of training equips them with expertise in the diagnosis of a wide variety of diseases that affect adults. 

On contrary, the broader training of a family medicine doctor allows them with a broad skill set that prioritizes outpatient medicine, continuity of care, health maintenance, and disease prevention. Additionally, family physicians are also trained to coordinate with different specialists and subspecialists for better treatment and recovery of the patient. 

Since family medicine and internal medicine doctors in Kolkata are both primary care doctors, choosing between them can be difficult. They are both capable of diagnosing and treating conditions and can guide you properly for the prevention and detection of diseases early while they can still be treated. Basically, there are benefits to choosing either of the doctors as your primary care depending on the settings and needs of the patient.