Primary care
Your doctor
by Joe Miller
Your primary care doctor is your home base: the one who knows your history, catches problems early, manages long-term conditions and sends you to the right specialist when you need one.
Watch: the narrated video (4 minutes)
Education, not medical advice. This site explains how medicine works in plain English. It does not diagnose or treat anyone. Talk with your own doctor about your health, and call 911 for an emergency.
The kinds of primary care doctor
| Specialty | Who they see | Training after medical school | Good fit if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family medicine | Everyone, newborns to grandparents | 3-year residency | You want one doctor for the whole family |
| Internal medicine ("internist") | Adults only | 3-year residency | You're an adult with several conditions, like diabetes and heart disease |
| Pediatrics | Babies, children and teens to about 18 to 21 | 3-year residency | For children; tracks growth, development and vaccines |
| OB/GYN | Women: pregnancy, birth and reproductive health | 4-year residency | Many women use an OB/GYN for checkups and screenings |
| Geriatrics | Older adults, usually 65 and up | Internal or family medicine plus a 1-year fellowship | Many medicines, memory changes, falls, frailty |
| Nurse practitioner (NP) and physician assistant (PA) | Varies; many work in primary care | Master's or doctorate (NP); master's (PA) | Shorter waits; they work with or alongside doctors |
What happens at a checkup
- Vital signs: blood pressure, heart rate, weight and sometimes oxygen and temperature. See what the numbers mean.
- History update: new symptoms, medicines, surgeries, family illnesses, smoking, alcohol, exercise, sleep and mood.
- Exam: heart and lungs, belly, skin, and anything you mention.
- Screenings: the tests that fit your age and risk (below), sometimes a depression or anxiety questionnaire.
- Blood work if needed: often cholesterol, blood sugar (A1C) and kidney function.
- Vaccines that are due, and a plan for anything that needs follow-up.
Tip: a preventive checkup is usually covered at no cost by insurance. But if you also bring up a new problem, that part may be billed as a regular visit. Ask the office when you book.
Screenings by age
A screening looks for a disease before you have symptoms, when it is easiest to treat. These are the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations for people at average risk:
| Screening | Who | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure | Adults 18 and older | Every year at 40+ or with risk; every 3 to 5 years at 18 to 39 if normal |
| Cervical cancer | Women 21 to 65 | Pap test every 3 years (21 to 29); at 30 to 65, Pap every 3 years or HPV test every 5 years |
| Breast cancer (mammogram) | Women 40 to 74 | Every 2 years |
| Colorectal cancer | Adults 45 to 75 (76 to 85 case by case) | Stool FIT test yearly, stool DNA test every 1 to 3 years, or colonoscopy every 10 years |
| Lung cancer (low-dose CT) | Ages 50 to 80 with a 20 pack-year smoking history who smoke now or quit within 15 years | Every year |
| Prostate cancer (PSA) | Men 55 to 69 | Your choice after talking it through with your doctor; not advised at 70+ |
| Diabetes and prediabetes | Ages 35 to 70 who are overweight | About every 3 years if normal |
| Osteoporosis (bone density) | Women 65+, younger women at higher risk | As your doctor advises |
| Abdominal aortic aneurysm | Men 65 to 75 who ever smoked | One ultrasound |
| Hepatitis C and HIV | Hep C: adults 18 to 79; HIV: ages 15 to 65 | At least once |
| Depression and anxiety | Adults (anxiety: under 65) | At checkups |
A family history (for example, a parent with colon cancer young) or other risks often means starting earlier.
Adult vaccines to ask about
| Vaccine | Who | When |
|---|---|---|
| Flu | Everyone 6 months and older | Every fall |
| Tetanus (Td or Tdap) | All adults | Booster every 10 years, or 5 years for a dirty wound |
| Shingles (Shingrix) | Adults 50+ | Two doses, 2 to 6 months apart |
| Pneumococcal (pneumonia) | Adults 50+, younger with some conditions | Usually one dose |
| RSV | Adults 75+, and 50 to 74 at higher risk | One dose |
| COVID-19 | Recommendations changed in 2025 and 2026 | Ask your doctor or pharmacist what fits you now |
| HPV | Through age 26; some to 45 | Two or three doses |
Vaccine schedules are updated often. Your doctor or pharmacist can check what you have had.
Choosing a doctor
- In your network: check your insurance company's directory, then call the office to confirm.
- Board certified: look the doctor up at certificationmatters.org.
- Practical things: location, hours, same-day sick visits, a patient portal, telehealth, and which hospital they use.
- Fit: after the first visit, ask yourself if they listened and explained things in a way you understood.
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Sources
Checked November 11, 2026.