Primary Care Specialist

What is primary care?

Primary care covers your standard health care needs. The team at Select Family Practice and Urgent Care offers primary care services to help you monitor, improve, and protect your health. They should be your first point of call for your health care questions and needs, including scheduled wellness checks, sick visits, and urgent care. 

Your primary care provider can provide most health care services as well as referrals when a specialist physician or more advanced diagnostic test is needed. They coordinate your care and make sure that all of your medications and treatments work well together and don’t combine to cause unwanted side effects. 

What are the benefits of having a primary care provider?

You see your primary care provider at least once a year for your annual wellness check, as well as for any sick visits or other health issues that come up during the year. As a result of this regular and routine contact, you and your provider build a relationship. A good relationship with your doctor leads to open communication and productive appointments.

Your provider understands you, your lifestyle, and your health needs and keeps records that allow them to identify changes in your health right away. A primary care provider ensures that you have continuity of care as well as convenient access to a wide range of health services. 

Primary care focuses on prevention, which helps you improve and maintain your health while reducing your risk of chronic disease. However, if you have a chronic condition, your primary care provider offers management services to keep you as healthy as possible. 

What services are included in primary care?

The team at Select Family Practice and Urgent Care offers a comprehensive range of primary care services, including:

• Annual wellness exams for patients of all ages
• School, sports, and DOT physicals
• Women’s health services
• Pediatric care
• Sick visits
• Diabetes management
• Hypertension management
• Preventive health screenings
• Skin cancer screenings
• Diagnosis and treatment for anxiety and depression
• Urgent care services

The team is committed to helping you and your family lead healthy, active, and fulfilling lives. If you’re looking for personalized, attentive primary care for your family, call Select Family Practice and Urgent Care or make an appointment online today.

What diseases do vaccines protect against?

Vaccines protect both your family and the population at large from these potentially serious diseases:

• Chickenpox
• Mumps
• Measles
• Tetanus
• Whooping cough
• Hepatitis A and B
• Rotavirus
• Diphtheria
• Polio
• Rubella
• Hib
• Meningococcal
• Pneumococcal
• Human papillomavirus (HPV)
• Influenza
• Shingles

Each of these diseases is highly contagious, which is why protecting yourself and others through vaccinations is so important.

When should I vaccinate my child?

One of the first steps you can take to protect your child’s health is vaccination, which you should complete within the first 15 months of their life. Some immunizations are combination vaccines, while others require boosters. The team at Select Family Practice is happy to sit down with you to provide you with the complete schedule of recommended vaccinations.

Who should get a flu shot?

The short answer to this question is everyone 6 months and older. This annual vaccine changes from year to year as experts around the world track the virus to predict which strain will make the annual rounds. This massive and global effort has been successful, reducing your risk of flu by 40% to 60% each year.

A flu vaccine is also important for anyone who has a weakened immune system that can’t fight off the flu properly, typically the very young and the very old fall into these categories, as well as pregnant women and anyone with a preexisting medical condition.

In terms of timing, it’s best to vaccinate before the winter season, which is when the vaccines are available at Select Family Practice.

Should I vaccinate against pneumonia?

The health care providers at Select Family Practice recommend that anyone over the age of 65 be vaccinated against pneumonia, as well as children under the age of 2. As well, people of all ages with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, as well as smokers, should be vaccinated.

Do I need vaccinations for travel?

While vaccinations have done their job stateside, the same isn’t true in many countries around the world. If you’re traveling to a developing country, talk to one of the health care professionals at Select Family Practice about protecting yourself with vaccinations.

To learn more about which vaccines benefit your family most, call Select Family Practice or request an appointment with the online scheduler.

What is the COVID-19 vaccine?

The COVID-19 vaccine is a newly developed vaccine that may protect you from getting COVID-19 or prevent the onset of life-threatening symptoms.

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

SARS-CoV-2 is a newly discovered and highly contagious coronavirus that causes a range of symptoms that may be life-threatening in certain groups of people, including the elderly and those with chronic health conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease.

How does the COVID-19 vaccine work?

The COVID-19 vaccine works by triggering your body to create antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The antibodies help your body fight off the virus to prevent illness.

The COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are messenger RNA vaccines (mRNA vaccines). These vaccines don’t contain a live virus.

The vaccine works by providing your cells with the code they need to create the “spike” protein. The “spike” protein is a harmless part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Your immune system recognizes that the “spike” protein is foreign and develops antibodies to destroy it.

When you come in contact with SARS-CoV-2, your immune system recalls the foreign protein and the antibody needed to destroy it. Like any other vaccine, the COVID-19 vaccine improves your body’s natural defense against infection without you ever being sick.

How many COVID-19 vaccine injections do I need?

The number of COVID-19 vaccine injections you need depends on the type of vaccine provided. Currently, the CDC recommends two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to get the most protection.

The length of time between your first and second vaccine dose depends on which COVID-19 vaccine you receive.

Select Family Practice administers the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna® and Johnson & Johnson®.

With the Moderna vaccine, you need your second dose within four weeks or 28 days of your first injection. The Moderna vaccine has approval for use in people aged 18 and older.

The authorization and dose requirements may change pending the results of ongoing clinical studies and the approval of new vaccines.

The CDC recommends you get the COVID-19 vaccine even if you have had COVID-19 to prevent reinfection.

What can I expect when getting my COVID-19 vaccine?

After reviewing your medical history, including your allergies, your health care provider at Select Family Practice injects the vaccine into your arm. Your provider has you remain at the office for about 15 minutes to monitor for any adverse reactions.

Though the COVID-19 vaccine won’t make you sick, you may develop side effects within three days after your injection. Common side effects include:

• Pain and swelling at the injection site
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Headaches
• Joint pain

These side effects usually resolve within a day or two.

It takes a few weeks for your body to build up immunity to the virus, and you may still get and transmit the virus after vaccination.

Until your community is fully protected, your health care provider recommends you continue to take necessary precautions to prevent further spreading of the virus. These precautions include washing your hands regularly, wearing a face mask when outside your home, and social distancing.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and those around you from getting COVID-19. To schedule your vaccination, call Select Family Practice today.