Dr. Hanid Audish & the Importance of Having a Family Doctor

Establishing a Long-Term Relationship

Most informed individuals recognize the crucial role that a family physician plays in the care and management of medical ailments. However, it is often challenging for physically fit or otherwise healthy individuals to understand why they should invest in a family doctor — especially when there is no family history of disease or illness. Dr. Hanid Audish states that it is imperative to remember that a family doctor does more than provide treatment for illness. He takes the time to outline some of the primary reasons why individuals should obtain a trusted family physician.

1. They Know Your Personal and Family History

A family physician provides a continuity of care that a patient cannot receive in a community walk-in clinic or local emergency room. If your family doctor has developed a keen sense of your personal medical history, they are in a stronger position to determine what falls outside of your ‘normal’ and to develop a comprehensive treatment plan based on that knowledge.

By having built a relationship with your family doctor you are removing the need to have to go through a complete medical history with every new appointment. Instead, your doctor already has access to this information and can be there to provide care or follow up as needed.

Check-ins at a walk-in clinic or the emergency room are anything but routine, and often require the patient to reiterate their medical history with doctors they have never met before, or who may not remember their previous visit because of the volume of patients they see on a regular basis.

2. Your Family Doctor Knows You as a Person and Not Just Another Patient

According to Dr. Hanid Audish, family doctors are renowned for their ability to treat the patient as a whole — not just a specific physical or medical ailment. The level of care that a family physician provides focuses largely on an accumulation of the physical, social, and emotional needs of the patient, and the recommendations and treatment options they provide are often designed to fit specific lifestyle or personal beliefs and values.

Family doctors make preventative health recommendations, and work with their patient to uncover long-term treatment or maintenance options — emergency room or walk-in clinic doctors seldom have the time to provide that level of personal care.

3. They Will Ensure You Receive Proper Care

Doctors at community walk-in clinics or local hospitals are not capable of providing the same continuity of care as those in a family practice. This is not for lack of skill or capability, but rather because they do not have the same level of opportunity to develop a relationship with their patients. As a result, they are unable to establish a personal understanding of the people they treat and are not always able to provide advice or medical recommendations that suit one’s specific lifestyles or needs.