It is normal to ask ourselves what an internist does when talking about medical specialties.
Although at first internal medicine may sound like something unknown, the reality is that it focuses on treating diseases that affect the organs of the body or systemic diseases, for which you may have already seen an internist at some point.
What is an internist?
The internist or also known as an internal medicine specialist focuses on caring for adult patients who do not require surgery.
It brings together the functions of different specialists and harmonizes the patient’s treatment so that it does not have harmful effects.
They know about epidemiology, physiotherapy, clinics, etiopathogenesis, primary and secondary prevention methods, pathophysiological interactions in diseases, and their different treatments.
What is the difference between a general practitioner and an internist?
Differentiating an internist from a general practitioner can be seen as complicated since both deal with patients in similar situations.
A general practitioner can treat any patient, regardless of their age. They focus on the family and have extensive knowledge of all medicine fields, without being a specialist. Generally, it treats respiratory infections, viral diseases, and localized pain, among others.
On the other hand, what does an internist do? They evaluate patients to identify and care for several diseases at the same time, work in the hospital assuming responsibility and monitoring of the patient from admission to discharge.
They offer a global and synthesized vision to issue a diagnosis. Among the diseases they treat are hypertension, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, and arthritis.
What does an internist do?
Perhaps it has already become clearer what an internist does.
The pathologies that this specialist treats are very wide and varied, but among the best-known areas are:
- Cardiology
- Palliative care
- Endocrinology
- Autoimmune diseases
- Infectious diseases
- Gastroenterology
- Nephrology
- Pneumology
- Nutrition
- Rheumatology
- Emergencies
In the area of Internal Medicine at ABC Medical Center find out more about what an internist does. We can give you specialized care, contact us!
Fuentes:
https://www.unidadmedica.com/blog/medico-internista-que-es-y-funciones/
https://hgm.salud.gob.mx/interna/unidades/medinter/medinter.html
