Why it’s Important to Keep Your Primary Care Provider in the Loop About Other Health Care Options You May Utilize
In the United States today, consumers have access to many health related treatment options for a variety of conditions and maladies that may not require a prescription from a primary care provider (PCP). These include things like weight loss supplements and treatments, exercise programs, probiotics, chiropractic, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, CBD and medical marijuana, herbal supplements and even vitamin regimens.
However, it’s important that you work in conjunction with your PCP to ensure that any health care alternatives you choose won’t cause more harm than good.
Keeping your PCP apprised of any prescription medications from specialists and any alternative treatments you want to utilize can help you avoid things like:
Contraindications (a symptom or condition that makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable) of conditions that your chosen treatment would worsen;
contraindications with medications you may already be taking;
dangerous side effects, whether from the treatment itself or from contraindications; and
allergic reactions.
Informing your PCP can also help you with things like:
sticking to treatment regimens, maximizing their efficacy;
discovering possible complementary treatments; and
knowing whether or not the treatment you’re interested in is effective and safe.
“Providing your primary care provider with your complete medication, treatment and therapy history helps them to better understand your health, identify patterns in your health and make informed decisions that you specifically need,” said Jason Revel, Pharm.D, director of pharmacy services at Revan Rx. “It’s also important to use one pharmacy if you have several providers so accurate treatment histories can be provided to all your providers.”
The bottom line is really that you and your PCP want the same thing: for you to be as healthy as possible. So it’s important to make sure they know everything you’re doing to get there and stay there. After all, they did spend a lot of time learning how best to care for you.
RevanRx is a full-service and compounding pharmacy providing service locally and delivery to Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. We hope to increase patient adherence and access to care for those who would otherwise not feel comfortable receiving medications or medication counseling in a public setting, avoiding embarrassing public conversations, misgendering or refusal of service. We also specialize in the unique needs of the LGBT+ community.