
Pittsburgh Magazine: What’s the Best New Year’s Resolution You Can Make for Your Health?
If you’re making any health-related New Year’s resolutions, here’s one essential piece of advice: find yourself a doctor.
dults may spend most of their time caring for others, whether it be their children, partner or aging parents.
But caring for yourself is essential, and having a primary care physician plays a key role in that.
Dr. Patrick Sleckman at St. Clair Health says even as a physician he has a primary care doctor he turns to with questions.
“Sometimes I really just have to have someone that I go to and say, ‘Hey, this is feeling kind of weird, what are our next steps?’” Sleckman says.
Taking the first step to find a doctor, whether through a health system, your insurance, or word of mouth, is essential, because “everyone’s going to have some kind of medical issue throughout their lifetime,” Sleckman says.
“There’s a lot of things that we screen for during your primary care visits that you may not feel or have symptoms with but can cause health issues down the road,” he says. “Things like your blood pressure or your cholesterol can lead to health conditions down the road or increase your risk” for those conditions.
He notes primary care physicians will also look at your family history, which may help them know what to screen for.
“It’s always a good idea to see a primary care physician before you really have to,” he says.
With the New Year approaching, Sleckman notes a lot of people make resolutions involving weight loss. Primary care physicians can help patients manage expectations, map out a plan and explore potential medications.
“Hopefully my patients will tell you I’m kind of the primary care director that likes to get to know you a little bit more. I think gone are the days where the doctor was this intimidating force in the room and told you to do something. It’s much more of a relationship. It’s much more of a, ‘What can I do to help you, and what can I do to help you achieve your goals?’”
Resource: https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/new-years-resolution-health/
First Published December 27, 2024, by Lauren Davidson.