Internal medicine and family medicine have fundamentally different focuses, training, and patient care activities. The scope of family medicine is much broader than that of internal medicine. In family medicine, doctors manage the health and well-being of patients of all ages, including children.

Internal medicine refers to the medical care provided to adults by internal doctors, also known as internists. The specialty of internists is to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases in adults. Internists are often focused on chronic diseases, genetic diseases, and preventive care, though they can treat most adults. Family medicine, on the other hand, involves the treatment of the entire family, not just those with children. Doctors who practice family medicine provide primary care to patients for general checkups, treating illnesses, preventing diseases, and monitoring their health.

Doctors who practice internal medicine and family medicine see or treat different patients. The way they approach, practice, and perform their duties are also different. Family medicine doctors, for example, may focus on maintaining health, while internal medicine doctors may manage conditions.

Among the chronic conditions that internal medicine physicians treat are heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and pulmonary disease. Internal medicine physicians are often called upon by other medical professionals to connect the dots, solve problems, and find solutions.

There is a connection between every system in your body. A person with high blood pressure may develop heart disease, while a person with diabetes may be at greater risk for a number of health problems.

An integral part of internal medicine is the scientific and laboratory approach to medicine, but it also carefully examines how all of these systems work together and interact. In other words, internal medicine physicians have expertise in treating chronic diseases or multiple chronic diseases.

A physician specializing in internal medicine is an expert in complexity. All the connections in the human body are visible to them. There are many roles and settings in which internal medicine physicians serve and lead. Throughout their health care journey, they provide support and care for patients who struggle in uncertain environments and excel in challenging environments. The expertise they possess makes them invaluable to both patients and medical professionals.

Physicians who practice internal medicine apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to diagnose, treat, and provide compassionate care to adults across the spectrum of health and illness. They are particularly skilled at diagnosing puzzling medical problems, managing chronic illnesses, and treating patients with multiple diseases. Health promotion and disease prevention are also specialties of internal medicine physicians.

Internal medicine doctors specialize in the heart, kidney, liver, and lungs, among other internal organs. They are adept at managing diseases in these and other organs, and they are familiar with the interrelationships among them.

The specialty of internal medicine encompasses primary care and specialty care for adults and has roots in primary care. In addition to diagnosing and treating diseases of any organ system, internists are specially trained to treat seriously ill patients suffering from advanced illness and/or multiple disease systems.

In addition to providing care in office settings and hospitals, internists also provide ongoing ambulatory care. Patients’ general medical needs are taken care of in their offices, including disease prevention, early detection of disease, screening, patient education, and follow-up care after hospitalization. Patients referred by other practitioners such as family physicians to internists are treated for acute and chronic illnesses in hospitals and ambulatory settings.

The geriatric population’s special needs are also met by these professionals. Furthermore, internists organize and coordinate their patients’ care and ensure that they receive the care they need.

Patients can see internal medicine physicians at Beckley Internal Medicine. We serve patients from Beckley WV, Daniels WV, Bradley WV, Shady Spring WV, Sophia WV, and Macarthur WV.