These factors make it is easy to see that the differences between general internal medicine and family medicine may not be easily understood. A general estimate is that a typical family medicine practice might see 10% to 15% children, meaning that 85% to 90% of patients will be adults, the same population seen by internal medicine physicians. Additionally, an increasing number of family physicians do not include obstetrics, neonatology, or significant surgery as part of their practices, which makes the care provided to adults appear similar to that provided by internal medicine physicians. Much of the confusion likely arises because the majority of patients seen by family physicians are adults, thus overlapping with the patient population focused on by internal medicine physicians. adults, children, or women), organ system (i.e., otolaryngology or urology), or nature of an intervention (i.e., surgery). Consequently, family physicians are trained with the intent to be able to deal with the entire spectrum of medical issues that might be encountered by the members of a family unit. Conceptually, family medicine is built around a social unit (the family) as opposed to either a specific patient population (i.e. The specialty of family medicine grew out of the general practitioner movement in the late 1960s in response to the growing level of specialization in medicine that was seen as increasingly threatening to the primacy of the doctor-patient relationship and continuity of care. Internal medicine grew out of the increasing application of scientific knowledge into the practice of medicine starting in the late 1800s. This “scientific” approach to medicine was unique at the time and was progressively applied to the wide spectrum of diseases that commonly affect adults. With the growth and development of pediatrics as a separate specialty devoted to the care of children in the early 1900s, internal medicine continued its primary focus on adult patients. ![]() Historically, the two specialties developed from very different backgrounds. There are fundamental differences in the focus, training, and patient care activities of the two specialties of internal medicine and family medicine.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |