Family medicine is a medical specialty many people have not heard of in the Kingdom due to a tradition of visiting doctors only when one feels sick. Physicians at hospitals and polyclinics, where patients typically go to seek treatment, usually do not know much about the patient's medical history and do not have a lasting relationship with the patient and his family. But the holistic nature of family medicine as well as its emphasis on the overall well-being of a patient's family has started appealing to a growing number of people in the Kingdom. Al-Riyadh daily reports on the evolving medical scenery in the Kingdom. Aliya Rashid's father suffers from diabetes and he requires frequent medical care. The family's doctor who her father met some 30 years ago often comes to their home, something she says greatly improves the level and quality of medical care he receives. "One day when he suffered a diabetic coma at 3 a.m., we immediately called the family physician who rushed to our home and dealt with the case on the spot because he is aware of my father's case and history. In two hours, my father was doing well and even had his breakfast," she said. The doctor also takes care of all members of Aliya's family and knows their entire medical history as well. Dr. Salih Al-Ansari, assistant professor of family and community medicine, said a family physician is someone who has completed a degree in medicine and a higher study program in the same field and has been trained in all clinical skills. She said physicians working in primary healthcare centers around the Kingdom cannot be called family physicians because they have not been trained in this field nor have they earned any higher degrees in it. This fact may explain why many people do not trust primary healthcare physicians. "In the United Kingdom, the primary healthcare physician will see a pregnant woman, follow up with her, provide her with full care even baby vaccinations from the moment the baby is born and throughout the baby's life," Al-Ansari explained. Family medicine programs have proven to be successful in the UK and many Scandinavian countries because they help doctors take full care of their patients and help governments reduce spending on the healthcare sector. A family doctor who can deal with 90 percent of medical problems at early stages of symptoms' appearance is less costly than a hospital; in other words, it is better to have hospitals deal with critical cases only but not all cases. Another reason is the family doctor is more accessible than a hospital; one phone call and he or she will be on his way to the patient's house. "A family doctor must be excellent at how to deal with health problems and well-versed in the fundamentals of clinical medicine for various specialties. Unlike the doctors who specialize in a specific field, a family doctor must know little about every specialty," he said. Al-Ansari said the Ministry of Health needs 18,000 family doctors. The current Kingdomwide number does not exceed 500. Solving the shortage may take decades but it should be solved because citizens have the right to get access to comprehensive healthcare services. Dr. Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, family medicine consultant and faculty member of King Saud University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, views family medicine as a combination of different fields such as internal medicine and pediatrics. "It is difficult to apply a family medicine program in our society because the majority of women would not allow a male doctor to examine them," he explained, noting that "family medicine is the key to a continuing comprehensive healthcare program. It is the best solution for having a lasting and caring relationship with patients and their families." He said the concept of family physicians can be applied in the country while preserving social traditions by forming teams of male and female doctors who can cater to the needs of male and female members of a family.
