Primary Care, 2nd Edition

Primary care is complex and encompassing, and care is given by many different types of providers nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants, nurse midwives, and pharmacotherapy specialists, to name a few, who work together in both formal and informal interprofessional teams. This book recognizes the need for a content that offers comprehensive, integrated information on the care of patients with prevalent diagnoses, primarily of a chronic nature, seen in primary care. It commences with a note on the structure of primary care and highlights the challenge to primary care providers to practice in a manner that is both family centered and culturally competent, health promotion from the perspective of patient-centered care, and the importance of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). The book then discusses cardiovascular conditions focusing on arrhythmia, coronary artery disease, dyslipidemias, heart failure hypertension, peripheral vascular diseases, and valvular heart disease. Common skin diseases, primary and secondary lesions, are described in detail, including diagnosis and management. Diabetes mellitus is characterized by glucose intolerance and distortions in fat metabolism, caused by either relative or absolute insulin deficiency. The focus then moves to common endocrine disorders: diseases of the adrenal, thyroid, and parathyroid glands. Comprehensive approach used by primary care providers in caring for patients with bowel obstruction, cirrhosis, gallbladder conditions, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastroenterologic cancers, hepatitis, ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn’s disease (CD), pancreatitis and peptic ulcers is also discussed. Information on genitourinary, hematologic, musculoskeletal, psychiatric, respiratory and reproductive conditions is also included.