primary care PUTS YOUR HEALTH FIRST

With primary care, you get one go-to physician or provider

Even though we’re currently in a pandemic, you shouldn’t put your overall health on hold.

Getting started

Throughout the pandemic, Sanford Health has seen two common questions: What if I don’t have a doctor? Where do I start?

Evelyn Fuentes-Dondoneau, MD, is a primary care doctor that specializes in family medicine at the Sanford West Fargo Clinic. She encourages everyone, regardless of age, to establish and maintain a trusting relationship with a primary care physician or provider.

If you don’t have a regular doctor or provider, she says a good place to start is the “Find a Doctor” tab on Sanford Health’s website. Once there, you can search profiles based on qualifications, interests, philosophy of care and more.

This is a great option to get to know Sanford Health’s doctors and providers and find one you might feel comfortable with. You can also read about doctor and patient interactions in the reviews on each profile.

“Real patients write the things they liked about their experience and break everything down about their visit. The reviews give you a sense of other people’s experiences and impressions,” Fuentes-Dondoneau says.

Meeting needs

Once you choose a regular doctor, you can develop a relationship with someone who understands you and your health. By having one main provider, Fuentes-Dondoneau says patients can have more confidence knowing their health goals will be met and they’ll get the best recommendations for preventive care.

“It’s nice to have that one person who knows your story. They know your family history and your disease risk, so they know how to better advise you,” she says. “I actually have quite a few patients where I see multiple generations of their family. It’s a privilege, getting to take care of families together.”

Fuentes-Dondoneau also stressed that even though the pandemic is a huge health event, there are still other things doctors are worried about. People are still having heart attacks, developing diabetes and getting cancer. And primary care physicians and providers are still trying to help them catch these issues early.

“We can catch things that are scary like cancer early, and that’s why getting these screenings done is so important,” she said. “If someone puts off, let’s say, a colonoscopy and doesn’t come in for a while, then we may catch colon cancer at stage 4 instead of stage 2.”

Building trust

Even when someone feels healthy, they still need a primary care physician or provider to help them stay that way. And then if health concerns do arise, your provider can quickly get you connected with other experts.

“When things get more complicated, we can refer you to a specialist and communicate directly with them on your behalf,” Fuentes-Dondoneau says.

A primary care physician or provide can also be a quick bridge to support for behavioral or mental health.

“The great thing about the setup at our clinic is that we can offer integrated mental health care. If I meet a patient and I think that they need to connect with someone soon, we can get them scheduled within days,” Fuentes-Dondoneau says.

Scheduling first appointment

When scheduling an appointment to get to know a new doctor, the best way to meet them is face-toface through an office visit.

“You want someone you feel comfortable and safe enough with to share your personal concerns and be completely honest and open,” FuentesDondoneau says.

Bring a list of medications, medical history, family history, insurance information, concerns, goals and questions to your first visit. And make sure to tell your provider about your health goals.

“I have patients who want to be healthier and lose weight. We help them with diet and exercise plans and if needed, get them with a dietitian or to a weight loss clinic. Primary care physicians generally stay on top of your health and help you meet your goals, whatever those may be,” she says.

Sanford has implemented many safety precautions to keep people as safe as possible from COVID-19 while seeking care. It’s far riskier to stay away than to come in. To schedule an appointment, a prospective patient can either visit Sanford Health’s website or call a clinic.

“People are still getting sick and having health concerns,” Fuentes-Dondoneau says. “We’re here to take care of them. We’re always working to keep patients and ourselves safe."