In the short term, continuity of care dramatically increases the likelihood that you’ll receive a correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment. The best diagnostic test available to a doctor is the test of time. Your primary care physician at Ross Medical Care gains valuable information from tracking a problem over time –whether for a week, two weeks, or a month–and can make treatment decisions accordingly. Think of the other extreme: If you go to the ER or Urgent Care with a problem, the providers don’t expect they’ll ever see you again, so they’re likely to order extra tests and treatments to cover all the possible bases at once.

Over the long term, your provider at Ross Medical Care who knows your health history, your habits, and your personality can more easily recognize signs that indicate a potential change in your health. For example, if you complain of fatigue to a doctor who doesn’t know you, you might not be taken seriously – but your primary care provider at Ross Medical Care will be able to see that you aren’t your usual self. On the flip side, that same provider will be able to reassure you when you’re not sick–they’ll know that the mole you’re worried about on your back isn’t a problem because it hasn’t changed in the six years they’ve observed it.

If you need to see a specialist, our skillful primary care providers at Ross Medical Care will refer you to someone they know and with whom they have a collaborative relationship. If you have concerns about getting different suggestions from different specialists, your primary care provider can help you sort through and prioritize which suggestions to act on first. This is the concept that’s known as the ‘medical home.’  Your primary care provider at Ross Medical Care has a working relationship with their referrals and keeps track of your care with them.

Setting up a relationship with a consistent provider at Ross Medical Care can help you get care more quickly should you get sick in the future–whether it’s a pesky sinus infection or something more serious. “When you’ve established care and set up that relationship, it’s much easier for us to help you down the line,” says Dr. Ross, “We know your history, we know more about you, and we can even help you resolve things over the phone, video conference or via email.”

And finally, if you come in for regular physicals instead of only coming in when you’re sick, your primary provider at Ross Medical Care can help educate you about your health and prevent chronic illnesses down the line. “When we do a physical, we do a lot of routine, basic checks. But coming in regularly can be very valuable to your long-term health,” says Dr. Ross.  “We cover a lot of ground in a yearly physical, dispensing information tailored to the unique needs and goals of each patient. The range of topics may include education about high blood pressure, weight loss, hormone therapy, wellness support or stress and anxiety.  It’s proactive and preventive at the same time,” he says.