Traveling to different doctors offices for each member of the family, getting laboratory work completed at a hospital, and utilizing the local emergency room for urgent care needs can take a toll on a family. The time to coordinate going to each office, the money spend on gas and co-payments, and the hassle of then traveling to a pharmacy for prescriptions can be stressful. In addition to all that, any pain management, diagnostic testing, or minor outpatient procedures usually have to be done somewhere else. Accommodating appointments and tests can cut into work time, leisure time, and family time.
Comprehensive family medical care, like services that can be found at Wichita Family Medicine Specialists, for example, will save everyone time and money. There will be no need to find a separate pediatrician, a geriatric practitioner, a gynecologist, or a doctor for follow-up care due to an injury or long term illness or condition. A variety of MDs and DOs are available to provide most services needed by the entire family. Both types of doctors have attended the same number of years in medical school, and the same amount of time at residency training. A Doctor of Medicine (MD) is the most common type of general doctor, while a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) has been educated in body manipulation of the muscles and skeletal systems, similar to a chiropractor. The focus of education for a DO has also been a bit more holistic than the traditional education of an MD. That discrepancy has decreased in recent years as both disciplines are taught to focus on the whole patient, rather than just the part of the body affected by an injury, illness, or condition.
Nurses, technicians, and support staff are also available to help get appointments scheduled, treatments conducted, and testing completed. Services include X-rays, diagnostic testing, and laboratory work on-site, annual physicals and preventative health care, well child care, and immunizations. Management of minor and major illnesses, diseases, conditions, as well as chronic pain, are provided, as are evaluations and assessments. Professionals at Wichita Family Medicine Specialists are also able to complete minor surgeries and office-based outpatient procedures. New patients can go to Wichitafms.com for complete capabilities, to download new patient forms, and to schedule appointments for every member of the family.
