Prevention First - What is an Internist?

What is an internist?

You already know that having a personal physician is an important part of preventing sickness and promoting a long, healthy life. Prevention First includes the expertise of board-certified internists. These internal medicine physicians can detect health problems in patients of all ages long before the patient becomes aware that something is wrong.

Internists are specially trained not only to diagnose and treat disease, but to prevent the initial onset of those diseases by recognizing and controlling risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. Internists are also proficient in the detection and treatment of cancer as well as problems of the digestive, respiratory, joint, vascular, internal organ and cardiovascular systems.

Why choose an Internist?
Having a personal physician is an important part of preventing sickness and promoting a long, healthy life. Regular checkups are key to detecting health conditions early, making them easier to treat. But what are the benefits of choosing a doctor who specializes in internal medicine?

An internist can alert you to problems before you know they exist. Internists are specially trained to not only diagnose and treat diseases, but to prevent the initial onset of those diseases by controlling risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. Internists are also proficient in the detection and treatment of cancer, as well as problems related to the digestive, respiratory, joint, vascular, internal organ and cardiovascular systems.

Who benefits from an internist?
By focusing on comprehensive adult health care and addressing a wide range of conditions, from common colds to heart attacks, internal medicine physicians can treat patients from the age of 15 onward. A long-term, patient-physician relationship provides the internist with extensive understanding of a patient’s unique medical history and enables them to address specific, ongoing health concerns that factor into a patient’s overall health equation.

Physician training
While an internist is often confused with a general practitioner, there are distinct differences between the two. For instance, an internist devotes three years of education to studying adult medicine, specifically as it pertains to the health of internal organs and disease prevention. Subsequently, they may choose to become a general internist or to practice within a subspecialty of medicine, such as cardiology or endocrinology. On the other hand, a family practitioner spends only nine months of residency training studying adult disease under an internist.

An internist is specially trained in:

General medicine
Respiratory system
Vascular system
Heart problems
Blood problems
Kidney problems
Joint/rheumatologic problems
Digestive problems
Endocrine/hormonal problems
Cancer
Urinary problems
Neurological problems
Infectious disease

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