While you may be a very healthy person who rarely catches a cold, you still want to make sure you have a family doctor. There are a lot of reasons why having your own family doctor that you can go to is important to you both physically, as well as emotionally. Here are some of the benefits you should consider when it comes to family doctors and why having your own is important.

You will have a relationship with your doctor

When you have a family doctor, you will develop a relationship with them in which they know you and you feel comfortable with you. This means you are going to feel more comfortable when you do have to go in to see them. This will make you feel better about the office visit. It also allows them to get to know you, so they know the right approach to take with you. For example, some patients do better with getting news in a direct manner, while others may do best with news given to them in a more delicate manner.

You won't be as likely to put off exams

When someone doesn't have a family doctor, they will be much less likely to have their regular exams done. Whereas, if you do have your own family doctor, then you will be more likely to have annual exams and labs done. This can turn up issues you didn't realize you had, so you can be treated for those issues right away.

You won't have long waits

When you do get sick, if you have to go to a walk-in clinic to be seen, since you don't have your own doctor, then you will generally find that you spend a long time out in the waiting room before you are called back. Once you are called back, you may still have a long wait while you are in a room. Although some doctor's also have long waits at times, most will find the long waits at your own doctor will still be less than at a clinic.

You won't be surrounded by sick people

When at a walk-in clinic, the chances are that most of the people crowded around you are there because they are actively sick. They are probably sick with something bad if they have drug themselves out of bed to go to the clinic. When you go to your family doctor, there will probably be sick people, but there will also be those there for exams, shots, labs, or other reasons that don't include being sick. This lessens the chances of you actually catching something else while you are seeing a doctor for any reason.

Contact a family practice to learn more.