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Advantages of Establishing Care with a Primary Care Provider
Brandon Smith, ARNP discusses the importance of having a primary care provider.
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Learn more about Brandon Smith, ARNP
Brandon Smith, ARNP
Brandon Smith, ARNP is a Provider at EvergreenHealth Primary Care, Canyon Park.Learn more about Brandon Smith, ARNP
Transcription:
Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to Check-Up Chat with EvergreenHealth. I'm Caitlin Whyte. And today, we're joined by Brandon Smith, a provider at EvergreenHealth Primary Care Canyon Park, to talk about the advantages of establishing care with a primary care provider. Now, Brandon, when someone refers to a PCP or a primary care provider, what does that mean?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: So primary care providers really sort of encompass the whole health spectrum. If someone establishes with primary care, they're coming to us sometimes it's for one specific thing, but really what we try to focus on, even outside of the specific thing that they might be coming to us for is looking at their whole health. So, you know, it might be the acute event that they're experiencing at that time or it may in the grander scheme be everything from blood pressure to diabetes, to just well health diet and exercise routine, just good overall health.
Caitlin Whyte: And tell us, what is the role of a physician assistant or nurse practitioner in a primary care clinic versus an MD or a DO?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: Well, in the primary care setting, we actually all do the same thing. We've all gotten to the primary care setting for a multitude of reasons, but primarily through different directions of education. MD, of course, medical doctor, they have their certain training. A doctor of osteopathy or a DO is more specialized towards musculoskeletal processes. A PA, for example, and an NP, we differ a little bit just in the sense that nurse practitioners practice independently, meaning we're not under the license of another physician, such as a PA would be. But we all have the capacity, the ability to be able to diagnose any of our patient's problems that come in and then effectively treat them both with medications and therapies.
Caitlin Whyte: So what advantages are there for establishing care with a PCP?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: Well, one of the greatest things that I see is just continuity of health. When people have a better understanding of their health in general, whether they're, you know, a kid, in their teens, in their twenties, so on and so on or if, you know, they’re later in life and they're in their 70s and 80s.
Everybody has their own understanding. I think there's room for all of us to learn more and having that continuity and that whether it's the annual checkup or somebody needs to be seen a little bit more frequently, we can really guide people towards their best health. And, you know, in terms of the science behind our health, that's one thing, but we all have our own health goals, even outside of that.
So it just allows a greater ability to live a better life really as far as the continuity of care, but also reducing the strain on healthcare in general. When people are going to the emergency department all the time, you know, it's just rising the cost of healthcare for everyone because the system is not set up to handle that all the time. And so seeing someone in a primary care setting, we can address so many of the concerns that would take somebody into an emergency department.
Caitlin Whyte: How about those patients who are pretty much in overall good health? How often should they see their PCP?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: Sure. Usually once a year, that's what we would recommend just for an annual exam. And at that annual exam, typically, you know, we're covering everything from dietary nutritional aspects to their health maintenances, their routine exercise. Sometimes it has nothing so much to do with the physical aspects of health, but it's all mental health, which has been a big topic since COVID kind of onset, you know, last year.
But usually at that annual exam, you know, we're able to do some basic screening labs. We're able to make sure that even though if somebody's healthy on the surface, that they're healthy internally as well.
Caitlin Whyte: And let's dig into that exam a little bit more. What does it cover?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: So usually, it's coverage of everything from, you know, what kind of diet you're eating? You know, are you at an appropriate weight for your body height? Are you exercising? We do, of course, do the screening labs. We'll generally look at a blood count and make sure that we're not missing an underlying inflammatory process or disease process such as anemia, low blood volumes. We tend to look also at the blood or let's call it a metabolic panel. And in that, we're able to see how the kidneys are functioning. We're able to see some numbers of the liver and the gallbladder and the electrolytes, how those are all working physiologically.
But we also will screen for cholesterol levels and for diabetes. Those are two of the biggest things that plague our country in terms of our health. And so that's usually part of the annual exam. And then of course, the actual hands-on physical exam portion of it, where we're checking out your ears, checking your throat and your mouth and your oral health. Listening to your heart, your lungs, your skin, all these different things that, you know, we can't quite check ourselves. You know, the car might be running just fine, so to speak, but when you take it to a mechanic, you might find something that you didn't even know about. The same thing is somewhat like that with the body.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you, Brandon, for your time today and for reminding us how important it is to have a PCP. EvergreenHealth Primary Care offers personalized, coordinated care, tailored to your needs and preferences throughout every stage of health and wellness.
Visit evergreenhealth.com/primary-care-physician to find a primary care provider that's right for you. This has been Check-Up Chat with EvergreenHealth. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.
Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to Check-Up Chat with EvergreenHealth. I'm Caitlin Whyte. And today, we're joined by Brandon Smith, a provider at EvergreenHealth Primary Care Canyon Park, to talk about the advantages of establishing care with a primary care provider. Now, Brandon, when someone refers to a PCP or a primary care provider, what does that mean?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: So primary care providers really sort of encompass the whole health spectrum. If someone establishes with primary care, they're coming to us sometimes it's for one specific thing, but really what we try to focus on, even outside of the specific thing that they might be coming to us for is looking at their whole health. So, you know, it might be the acute event that they're experiencing at that time or it may in the grander scheme be everything from blood pressure to diabetes, to just well health diet and exercise routine, just good overall health.
Caitlin Whyte: And tell us, what is the role of a physician assistant or nurse practitioner in a primary care clinic versus an MD or a DO?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: Well, in the primary care setting, we actually all do the same thing. We've all gotten to the primary care setting for a multitude of reasons, but primarily through different directions of education. MD, of course, medical doctor, they have their certain training. A doctor of osteopathy or a DO is more specialized towards musculoskeletal processes. A PA, for example, and an NP, we differ a little bit just in the sense that nurse practitioners practice independently, meaning we're not under the license of another physician, such as a PA would be. But we all have the capacity, the ability to be able to diagnose any of our patient's problems that come in and then effectively treat them both with medications and therapies.
Caitlin Whyte: So what advantages are there for establishing care with a PCP?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: Well, one of the greatest things that I see is just continuity of health. When people have a better understanding of their health in general, whether they're, you know, a kid, in their teens, in their twenties, so on and so on or if, you know, they’re later in life and they're in their 70s and 80s.
Everybody has their own understanding. I think there's room for all of us to learn more and having that continuity and that whether it's the annual checkup or somebody needs to be seen a little bit more frequently, we can really guide people towards their best health. And, you know, in terms of the science behind our health, that's one thing, but we all have our own health goals, even outside of that.
So it just allows a greater ability to live a better life really as far as the continuity of care, but also reducing the strain on healthcare in general. When people are going to the emergency department all the time, you know, it's just rising the cost of healthcare for everyone because the system is not set up to handle that all the time. And so seeing someone in a primary care setting, we can address so many of the concerns that would take somebody into an emergency department.
Caitlin Whyte: How about those patients who are pretty much in overall good health? How often should they see their PCP?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: Sure. Usually once a year, that's what we would recommend just for an annual exam. And at that annual exam, typically, you know, we're covering everything from dietary nutritional aspects to their health maintenances, their routine exercise. Sometimes it has nothing so much to do with the physical aspects of health, but it's all mental health, which has been a big topic since COVID kind of onset, you know, last year.
But usually at that annual exam, you know, we're able to do some basic screening labs. We're able to make sure that even though if somebody's healthy on the surface, that they're healthy internally as well.
Caitlin Whyte: And let's dig into that exam a little bit more. What does it cover?
Brandon Smith, ARNP: So usually, it's coverage of everything from, you know, what kind of diet you're eating? You know, are you at an appropriate weight for your body height? Are you exercising? We do, of course, do the screening labs. We'll generally look at a blood count and make sure that we're not missing an underlying inflammatory process or disease process such as anemia, low blood volumes. We tend to look also at the blood or let's call it a metabolic panel. And in that, we're able to see how the kidneys are functioning. We're able to see some numbers of the liver and the gallbladder and the electrolytes, how those are all working physiologically.
But we also will screen for cholesterol levels and for diabetes. Those are two of the biggest things that plague our country in terms of our health. And so that's usually part of the annual exam. And then of course, the actual hands-on physical exam portion of it, where we're checking out your ears, checking your throat and your mouth and your oral health. Listening to your heart, your lungs, your skin, all these different things that, you know, we can't quite check ourselves. You know, the car might be running just fine, so to speak, but when you take it to a mechanic, you might find something that you didn't even know about. The same thing is somewhat like that with the body.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you, Brandon, for your time today and for reminding us how important it is to have a PCP. EvergreenHealth Primary Care offers personalized, coordinated care, tailored to your needs and preferences throughout every stage of health and wellness.
Visit evergreenhealth.com/primary-care-physician to find a primary care provider that's right for you. This has been Check-Up Chat with EvergreenHealth. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.