Meet Jackson. Jackson is an 11-year-old boy who was recently diagnosed with dyslexia. The difficulty he has faced while learning to read has been a challenge. Fortunately for Jackson, he has a very supportive family and a great pediatrician who are all doing their best to help him adapt and find solutions. Jackson is now able to succeed in school thanks to knowing what kind of challenge he is faced with and what to look out for. Now, let’s think about this: your child needs to have a good long-term relationship with their pediatrician. There are several reasons for this, which we will discuss more in-depth below.
Building a Trusting Relationship
Could you imagine changing doctors ever couple of years? You would get to know your doctor well, and trust them, only to have them retire or move. How frustrating! The same concept is true of your child and their pediatrician. Children are naturally wary of adults they don’t know, as they should be. It takes a long time for your child to build a trusting relationship with their pediatrician, so they can trust their practitioner with what is really bothering them.
Understanding Your Child
A beneficial long-term relationship between your child and their pediatrician also means that your child’s pediatrician can more effectively determine when your child is at their healthiest and when their dealing with a health condition. Their pediatrician will also know what treatments are most likely to be the most effective when your child does encounter a health concern. When your child’s pediatrician knows your child’s specific health needs because they have a long-term provider-patient relationship, you will save both time and money, and your child will be treated effectively.
Collecting a Comprehensive Medical History
There’s so much that can be lost in transport even with the most detailed patient portals. Your child’s long-term care provider doesn’t just see statistics on paper,
they see a real person, and they know how to read between the lines of data in your child’s medical records. When your child changes pediatricians repeatedly, it creates challenges for their care providers when they have to start over from scratch in building a relationship with your child. Even when records are transferred, the one-on-one, provider-patient interaction is missing. By staying with a healthcare practitioner long term, you and your child can have the added assurance that their medical records are accurate and complete.
