family medicine provider in Royal Palm Beach FL

What Is Unique About Family Medicine?

There are so many primary care providers today who specialize in specific areas of medicine – such as orthopedics (the musculoskeletal system), neurology (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), endocrinology (secretions, especially of hormones, such as insulin), and ophthalmology (the eyes). However, you will ideally have a general practitioner who will not only keep track of all your reports from your various specialists, but also administer vaccinations and perform bloodwork and a urinalysis to check for any new infections or diseases at your annual checkup.

General practitioners (GPs) for adults are called internists, and GPs for children are called pediatricians. Bringing it all together are family medicine practitioners, who can treat health issues of all kinds and in people of all ages.

The broad scope of family medicine is what makes it unique, and you don’t have to have a family to see a family medicine provider. Let’s talk about what is involved in family medicine, what sets it apart from other medical specialties, and where you can go in Wellington to see an outstanding family practitioner who can help you stay healthy.

Primary Care for All Ages

Family medicine providers can care for every member of the family, from infants to the elderly. They administer annual checkups, monitor chronic illnesses, and make sure that a patient doesn’t have new medications that have contraindications with each other – meaning that they counteract, rendering them unhelpful or even harmful to your body.

Comprehensive and Preventive Care

With their breadth of experience, family medicine practitioners are able to provide comprehensive care to patients throughout their lifetime. They are able to tailor each patient’s treatment plan according to the patient’s unique needs and preferences.

Family practitioners address various aspects of a patient’s overall health, such as:

  • Sleep
  • Energy levels
  • Nutrition
  • Blood pressure
  • Weight
  • Mental health
  • Mobility
  • Chronic conditions
  • Injury prevention
  • Pain relief
  • Memory

Family medicine practitioners provide preventive care, which includes health screenings, immunizations, and wellness checks. The healthcare provider will spend time with you and listen to what you have to say about health and wellness concerns.

Baseline Healthcare Practitioner

Medical specialists focus on their specialty alone, they don’t administer flu shots and check all of your vitals for other health conditions. However, primary care providers such as family practitioners act as coordinators of your overall care, making sure you get the treatment you need, and may refer you to specialists if necessary in order for you to reach optimal health and wellness.

Family Medicine Practitioner in Wellington, FL

Here at Advanced Medical Clinic, our staff is highly experienced and provides exceptional, compassionate primary care for the whole family. Our family medicine practitioner is Shariffa Gunawardene, and she treats patients with a preventive approach and a treatment approach – including helping you manage injuries and illnesses. She is known in Palm Beach County for her compassionate nature and her commitment to your health.

For any questions or to schedule an appointment with Nurse Practitioner Gunawardene, call our Wellington primary care clinic today at (561) 434-1935 or fill out our appointment request form online now. We look forward to being your family healthcare provider!

Tips on Choosing the Best Provider for Your Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction, or ED, is nothing to be ignored. In fact, if you are having difficulty achieving and/or maintaining an erection that is sufficient enough for sex, you should consult a family medicine providers who specializes in men’s health.

The family medicine provider you’re looking for will be able to diagnose and treat your ED promptly and without making you feel embarrassed. Let’s talk about how to find the best family medicine provider for you in treating your erectile dysfunction, and where you can go in Wellington for world-class internal medicine.

Talk with Your Family Medicine Provider

Your primary care provider (PCP) knows you better than any other healthcare provider. This family medicine provider keeps records of all of your medical treatments and diagnoses, updates your vaccinations, prescribes medications and other services (such as physical therapy), and performs your annual physical exam. This family medicine provider is therefore ideal for asking questions about your ED, and the family medicine provider may uncover underlying reasons behind it. Once your provider has determined the likely cause of your erectile dysfunction, it can be treated successfully.

For example, certain chronic health conditions – such as Parkinson’s disease, MS (multiple sclerosis), diabetes, and cardiovascular disease – can impact blood flow to the penis and proper nerve function. Additionally, some medications you take, such as antihistamines, antidepressants, or blood pressure medications, can impair penile function.

Consult with a Men’s Health Specialist

Your provider may already be well-versed in treating men’s health issues, so you may not need to look any further. A family medicine provider who specializes in men’s health will offer state-of-the-art diagnostics and treatments for ED. Testing may include penile ultrasound to evaluate structure and blood flow, a blood draw to check for low testosterone (low-T), and other assessments.

Ask Questions

The family medicine provider you ultimately choose to treat your erectile dysfunction should make you feel comfortable in asking personal but pertinent questions, such as:

  • What could be the cause of my ED?
  • Do I have to take oral medications, or do I have other treatment options?
  • Can I improve my sexual function in natural ways?

The right ED family medicine provider can explain all of today’s myriad ED treatment choices, and the family medicine provider will ask you certain questions as well, such as:

  • How long have you had ED symptoms?
  • When do they tend to occur?
  • Are you having issues with achieving an erection, or maintaining one?

These questions are highly personal and can seem embarrassing. However, your family medicine provider needs this information to hone in on the underlying causes of your ED so that the best treatment can be determined for you. Keep in mind that most medical issues are indeed highly personal, so this is nothing new for your family medicine provider.

Men’s Health Specialist in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, FL

Here at Advanced Medical Clinic, our board-certified internist can diagnose and treat a wide range of adult health issues, including erectile dysfunction. Whereas pediatricians are family medicine providers who specialize in treating children, internists specialize in treating adults – and Dr. Ishan Gunawardene can address health issues of all kinds for both men and women.

Advanced Medical Clinic also offers family medicine for people of all ages, as Dr. Gunawardene’s wife, Shariffa, is a family nurse practitioner here at our practice. We are conveniently located in Wellington, and we are here for you for any non-emergency medical needs.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment, contact our friendly staff today by calling us at (561) 434-1935 or by filling out our appointment request form online now. We look forward to being your healthcare provider!

The Difference Between a Walk-In Clinic and Urgent Care Clinic

Are you one of those people who are unsure as to which type of healthcare facility you should seek treatment at in the event of a medical situation?

Depending on the nature of your condition or injury, you have a variety of options you can try, but your ideal options are a walk-in clinic and an urgent care clinic. Let’s delineate their distinctions to help you determine where you’re supposed to go for a particular medical situation.

Treatment and Services

A walk-in clinic, also referred to as a retail clinic, is designed is for quick visits. Walk-in clinics are the ones you see in grocery stores, pharmacies, and “big box” stores, such as Target and Walmart. Some of the services you can acquire at walk-in clinics are treatment for simple, acute conditions, vaccinations, drug prescriptions for common conditions, and blood pressure checks.

Urgent care clinics, on the other hand, are typically freestanding facilities. Services in urgent care clinics include treatment for acute illnesses or minor injuries, such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), minor cuts and abrasions, minor burns, simple fractures, among others.

If you have a condition or injury that is not serious enough to be considered life-threatening, but it needs prompt medical intervention, then your best course of action is to go to an urgent care clinic. Also, because walk-in clinics have a limited menu of services, if you are living with multiple chronic health conditions, your best bet is to go to a primary care practice that offers urgent care services.

Staff and Equipment

One of the major differences between these facilities is the staffing: urgent care clinics are required by law to have at least one board-certified primary care family medicine provider, whereas walk-in clinics typically only have nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Moreover, most urgent care facilities have multiple exam rooms and more advanced medical and diagnostic equipment. These are for conducting x-rays, administering IVs, and treating injuries.

Costs

Walk-in clinics provide more affordable options and less expensive treatments than urgent care clinics do. It is because walk-in clinics are primarily geared toward catering to the uninsured and underinsured. Urgent care services, nonetheless, are less expensive than emergency room services.

Urgent Care Clinic in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, FL

At Advanced Medical in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, Florida, we are essentially a primary care practice that is committed to providing comprehensive, patient-centered urgent care services to people of all ages in our community. Whether what you have is an acute or chronic medical condition, you can rest assured that we will provide you with the highest quality of evidence-based medical care.

If you have an acute medical situation that needs prompt treatment, you can either walk in or book a same-day appointment by calling us at (561) 434-1935. Alternatively, you may fill out our appointment request form.  We look forward to building a long-term relationship with you!

Coronavirus Treatment Evolution – What we now know about how to treat COVID-19

Coronavirus Treatment Evolution – What we now know about how to treat COVID-19

You may be hearing about coronavirus on a daily basis, but do you know what to do in case you develop symptoms? There’s no telling whether you will get mild or severe symptoms when you get infected. Fortunately, we have learned a lot about treatment over the past several months.

Mild Symptoms

If you develop a fever, dry cough, and body aches and think you may have COVID-19, you must stay home. Call your primary care family medicine provider and let them know of your symptoms. Your family medicine provider may recommend that you get tested to make sure you know the cause of your symptoms. Follow your family medicine provider’s instructions to help make your recovery more comfortable. Monitor your symptoms closely.

According to the CDC, people with mild symptoms of coronavirus can recover from home. Take care of yourself and do what you can to be healthy and help your body fight the virus. Rest, eat nutritious food, take your vitamins, hydrate, take a fever reducer, sleep, and do light exercises. Most people with mild symptoms feel better after a week. Most people who get COVID-19 have mild symptoms. As such, there is no need for prescription medication while they recover in most cases.

Moderate to Severe Symptoms

In the case you have severe symptoms, treatment may be necessary. Your family medicine provider may prescribe medications to help with symptoms, but not to treat COVID-19 itself. While the world awaits a vaccine, so far, only one medication has been approved by the FDA to treat COVID-19, and that is Remdesivir. This is only for patients who are hospitalized. A corticosteroid called dexamethasone is also used for patients with severe symptoms who need a ventilator. Convalescent plasma therapy or using the blood of people who recovered from COVID-19 is also used to help reduce the severity of the symptoms and help patients recover. If you have severe symptoms, your family medicine provider will determine which (if any) of these treatments can help you.

If you develop severe symptoms such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, a consistently high fever, or if your lips turn blue, go to an emergency room immediately. Remember, only patients with severe and life-threatening symptoms are admitted to the hospital.

The FDA is expediting the development of COVID-19 treatments at this time. In the meantime, mind your hygiene, follow social distancing guidelines, and do what you can to strengthen your immune system.

Family Medicine Provider in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, Florida

Our primary care providers, Dr. Ishan Gunawardene and Shariffa Gunawardene, ARNP are dedicated to providing personalized care and treatment. They are focused on restoring you to your optimal health. In light of the pandemic, we closely monitor patients who are COVID-19 positive and those who are showing symptoms but have not been tested. We understand that these are scary times, which is why we provide personalized care and support backed by medical science. If you have questions or if you would like to schedule an appointment with a primary care provider, call (561) 434-1935 or use our online request form.