stethoscope, family paper cutout, heart

Family Medicine: Your One Stop Shop

When you go to the grocery store, everything you need is all in one place – bread, eggs, meat, canned goods, cleaning supplies and more. Why can’t there be a one-stop shop for your family’s health care also? Well actually, there is.

Family medicine providers are trained in many areas of medicine, including pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology and geriatrics. Given this wide breadth of knowledge, family medicine physicians like me can provide comprehensive care for you, your children, your parents and your entire family, and in doing so will begin to gain a clear understanding of your family’s unique health care needs.

Beyond your primary care needs, UTMB Health family medicine doctors can run a variety of screenings and tests on-site, as well as help you control and manage chronic diseases. We also actively coordinate with specialists throughout our system of care to ensure you receive the same level of attention and care throughout your UTMB Health experience.

The convenience of having a family medicine physician is evident, but if you’re still not convinced, here are a few more reasons you should consider a family medicine physician for your family’s care.

Knowing your history. We know your family so we are able to treat and even anticipate things that could potentially affect the health of another relative or loved one. For example, if I have a patient with a genetic disorder and she has kids, I know we should do genetic testing on her kids. This knowledge puts us in a position where we have in-depth information that helps prevent disease.

Whole health approach. What is unique about family medicine is we train to, and we aim to care for a patient from the cradle to the grave – we deliver babies, we care for babies, and we take care of them as kids through their teenage years into adulthood, and all the way through their senior years. We’re able to connect with a patient on all levels and we pay attention to details that affect health such as social, economic and cultural factors. Understanding their life outside of the clinic can help keep our patients healthy.

Lifelong relationship. Not only are we taking care of the family, but as family medicine physicians, we almost start to become part of it. We watch the babies grow, we watch them get married, we watch them bring their own kids into the world and we continue caring for the growing family.

Let us care for you and your family – find a UTMB Health Family Medicine provider near you at utmbhealth.com/family-medicine. Continuing routine care during COVID-19 is essential, and telemedicine appointments are also available.

Oyetokunbo Ibidapo-Obe, MD

Oyetokunbo Ibidapo-Obe, MD, is a family medicine physician with UTMB Health.

UTMB Health Family Medicine