The focus of the Healthy Heart My Wellness challenge this week is preventative care. This is a great opportunity to build habits that can keep you healthier in the long run. One way to be proactive with your health is to see a primary care provider (PCP). A PCP is essential for monitoring your health and managing chronic conditions.
You can earn 50 My Wellness points by visiting your PCP annually. Track this in the My Wellness Portal to earn points.
Choosing a primary care provider from UMR Care
A PCP is your main health care provider in non-emergency situations. Your PCP’s role is to:
- Provide preventive care and teach healthy lifestyle choices
- Identify and treat common medical conditions
- Assess the urgency of your medical problems and direct you to the best place for that care
- Make referrals to medical specialists when necessary
Having a PCP can give you a trusting, ongoing relationship with one medical professional over time. You can choose from several different types of PCPs:
- Family practitioners: Doctors who have completed a family practice residency and are board-certified, or board-eligible, for this specialty. The scope of their practice includes children and adults of all ages and may include obstetrics and minor surgery.
- Pediatricians: Doctors who have completed a pediatric residency and are board-certified or board-eligible in this specialty. The scope of their practice includes the care of newborns, infants, children and adolescents.
- Geriatricians: Doctors who have completed a residency in either family medicine or internal medicine and are board-certified in this specialty. They often serve as a PCP for older adults with complex medical needs related to aging.
- Internists: Doctors who have completed a residency in internal medicine and are board-certified or board-eligible in this specialty. The scope of their practice includes the care of adults of all ages for many different medical problems.
- Obstetricians/gynecologists: Doctors who have completed a residency and are board-certified or board-eligible in this specialty. They often serve as a PCP for women, particularly those of childbearing age.
- Nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA): Practitioners who go through a different training and certification process than doctors. They may be your PCP in some practices.
If you are on one of Marquette’s medical plans, you can find in-network providers by logging in to the UMR portal. Find more guidance on how to search and what to look for here.
