Primary care is your first stop for health care, no matter your age or stage of life. It includes things like checkups, treatment when you are sick, and personalized advice to help keep you healthy. Primary care providers focus on your overall health and can help with a wide range of health issues, connect you to specialists and necessary testing (diagnostics), and can help prevent, identify and treat illness.

• Family doctors (or general practitioners): They diagnose and treat most health issues. If you need a specialist, like a heart doctor (cardiologist) or skin doctor (dermatologist), your family doctor will refer you. They also order tests, like blood work or X-rays (diagnostics). • Nurse practitioners: These are nurses with advanced training who can do many of the same things as doctors, like diagnosing and treating illnesses or prescribing medicine. Primary care providers focus on your overall health and connect you to other healthcare services when needed.

• People who are connected to a primary care provider are more likely to have better health results. Primary care providers can help with earlier and faster diagnosis and treatment of health conditions. • There is also more consistent care and support for managing you and your family’s health that can be personalized for all members of your family, from babies to seniors.

If you live in North York and need a family doctor or primary care nurse practitioner, please reach out to our North York Primary Care Community Connect team by clicking here (https://ocean.cognisantmd.com/intake/IntakePortal.html?eReqRef=7701df46-1bb0-4b6c-a1d9-19e6e17262b9)to complete a registration form.