Whether you are a doctor looking forward to pursuing your specialty of choice or a patient doing her research before subscribing to a Direct Primary Care (DPC) or Concierge Medicine subscription, this article fills you in on the difference between internal vs. family medicine.
There is a lot of similarity and overlap between internal medicine and family medicine, given that both are primary care specialties. When it comes to their differentiators, it all boils down to three major factors: a patient’s age, the doctor’s medical focus and training, and the type of care extended to the patient.
1. A Patient’s Age
A patient’s age is a crucial factor in determining what specialty a patient should turn to, or in the case of doctors, what patient group they are willing to serve.
Physicians in family medicine treat patients of all ages, from birth to death, while internal medicine doctors treat adults who are 18 years old and over. For internal medicine doctors to treat children, they need pediatric training to complement their internal medicine training.
2. Medical Focus & Training
Internal medicine training covers general medical conditions and requires relevant training in neurology, endocrinology, rheumatology, and other infectious diseases.
The American College of Physicians (ACP) states that doctors specializing in internal medicine also have significant training in psychiatry, dermatology, ophthalmology, office gynecology, otorhinolaryngology, and non-operative orthopedics palliative sleep medicine, geriatrics, and rehabilitation medicine.
Comprehensive training for internal medicine is designed to diagnose a wide range of illnesses and manage complex medical situations. Internal medicine doctors, or internists, are well-versed in situations involving severe, chronic illnesses and situations where multiple illnesses are present.
On the other hand, family medicine physicians accomplish extensive training outside of medical school. They undergo a three-year residency and in-depth training so that they can extend care to patients from birth until death.
While primary care is at the core of their practice, it is also not uncommon for family medicine doctors to pursue an added qualification in adolescent medicine, maternal-child health, sports medicine, geriatrics, and faculty development.
Patients can rely on their family medicine doctor for chronic conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, and acute conditions, like a broken bone or other types of body pain.
Internal medicine doctors and family medicine physicians collaborate with colleagues whenever patients require specialized care or when they need help managing complex cases, such as patients who have undergone transplants, chemotherapy sessions, and the like.
3. Patient Care
Because internal medicine doctors deal mostly with adults, illnesses tend to be a bit more complicated than that of kids. Internal medicine doctors must have significant experience in various subspecialties and medical settings to comprehensively care for adult patients.
Although training in internal medicine and family medicine takes place in both in-patient and out-patient settings, certain generalizations are followed.
Family medicine emphasizes out-patient care, such as home visits, while internal medicine focuses more on in-patient care.
Internal medicine training involves caring for hospitalized patients and gaining significant experience in intensive/critical care settings. With internal medicine, transitioning from out-patient to in-patient settings (and vice versa) is also easy.
On the other hand, family medicine exists to provide medical care to the family as a unit. True to its name, it is not uncommon for family medicine doctors to treat multiple family members simultaneously.
Family medicine are very holistic in that you can form a close relationship with a patient and generations of their family treating them at any stage of their lifetimes.- Dr. Julie Taylor, chief Academic Officer and Senior Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs for the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC)
Family medicine doctors are wellness-centered – this means that they are devoted to keeping any debilitating illnesses at bay and ensuring that their patients are in the pink of health.
Primary care physicians, such as family care physicians and internal medicine doctors, are a patient’s first entry point in the health care system. They are usually a patient’s first contact point when it comes to availing of a health service or addressing a health concern.
Having either a family medicine doctor or internal medicine doctor also helps patients navigate the complex system that is health care, from securing hospital care to coordinating subspecialty appointments.
To wrap it all up, both your family medicine doctor and internal medicine doctor play significant roles in your health and wellness journey.
It is not a matter of which one, but of when. Different medical situations require different kinds of doctors. Your family medicine doctor and your internal medicine doctor are important partners in health care, and – take it from us – it pays to have both on speed dial.
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