Many people think that healthcare is only taking responsive action to treat various injuries, diseases, and illnesses. However, this is not completely true. In fact, there is much more to healthcare than just providing the diagnosis and treatment – a part of healthcare is also focused on preventing diseases and illnesses, called preventive medicine.
Preventive medicine helps prevent health issues before there is a need to treat them. If you have had a screening for breast cancer, hypertension, or diabetes, then you have had preventive medicine.
Let’s talk about preventive medicine doctors, what they do, and where you can find the best preventive medicine doctor in Mankato.
Preventive Medicine Doctor
A preventive medicine doctor is a medical doctor with experience in public health and clinical care, which allows them to provide insight and expertise in preventing diseases, injuries, and death.
Unlike other medical specialists, preventive medicine doctors do not focus narrowly on a single ailment, age group, or body part, but they are focused on promoting the health of patients of all ages, genders, races, and the entire community.
What Do They Do?
Needless to say, all doctors practice preventive medicine, from your primary care physician to your specialists. A preventive medicine doctor may or may not work in a clinical setting and specialize in different areas.
The role of preventive medicine doctors depends on where they work; however, in general, they aim to promote and maintain the health of people.
Role In Clinical Settings
Preventive medicine doctors do not use a cookie-cutter approach but offer personalized counseling and urge patients to correct unhealthy lifestyles or habits that may not be conducive to good health. This means that they help you stop smoking, change your diet, or lose weight to prevent health conditions like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and smoking-related disease.
Not only this, but a preventive medicine doctor also runs preventive health screening to identify your risk for serious health conditions like cancers and administers an immunization to protect you from communicable diseases.
Role in Non-Clinical Setting
It’s not uncommon for preventive medicine doctors to work in both clinical and non-clinical settings. But when preventive medicine doctors work only in non-clinical settings, they practice epidemiology (the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related events and states in a specific population) and focus on the influence of social factors and behaviors on the health of a person.
Assessment and development of health policies and management of health programs are also some of the many tasks a preventive medicine doctor performs in a non-clinical setting.
Preventive and Function Medicine Doctor in Mankato
If you want to add years of quality living to your life, you need preventive care from a doctor specializing in preventive and holistic medicine.
At Between the Bridges Healing Center, we provide preventive, holistic, integrative, and functional medicine to help you achieve your health and wellness goals. Our providers are committed to helping you embrace a better and healthier tomorrow and for years to come!
If you would like to make an appointment with our holistic and preventive medicine provider, call our team today at (507) 388-7488 or request an appointment online.