Incremental care , or the delivery of treatments over a longer span of time , can be as effective as more immediate primary care in emergency departments . interventions in immediate health care situations can handle patients ’ pressing problems , but long term incremental care delivered by primary care practitioners can increase general health rates , lower mortality and decrease hospitalization rates . By developing relationships with patients , primary care practitioners can encourage them to report problems earlier and deal with recurring issues with prior knowledge of the problem at hand . Incremental care focuses on the course of patients ’ health over time , with understanding of the issue being provisional and the treatment constantly adjusted for success . Despite incremental care potentially costing more in the long term , in the shorter term it can help to diagnose and treat problems before they become critical . By taking into account the information on the patient ’s internal health from clinical results , the state of their living conditions , the state of their care ( including medication and treatment ) and information on patient behaviour such as sleep , stress and more , medical professionals can make much more informed decisions about treatment and care . In future , the introduction of wearable technology will provide constant health updates , making treatment even more personalised . However , incremental healthcare has yet to be recognised as a valid recipient of funding allocation , with the intervention style of care – found in orthopedics , cardiology , gastroenterology , dermatology and radiology – gaining the majority of payment . The lowest paid specialisms , such as family medicine , allergy / immunology , psychiatry , and HIV / infectious disease , along with palliative care , geriatrics , and headache specialisms , improve health over a long period of time through incremental care , but are just as valid . Despite the greatest causes of death being uncontrolled hypertension , or high blood pressure , incremental care which would be best suited to its treatment goes overlooked . The future of medicine will depend on the recognition of incremental care , and the reform of healthcare to ensure that health practices focus on the long term , rather than immediate fixes .
Incremental care, or the delivery of care over a longer span of time, can be as effective as more immediate primary care in emergency departments. Doctors in immediate health crisis situations can handle patients’ pressing problems, but long term incremental care delivered by primary care practitioners can increase general health rates, lower mortality and decrease hospitalization rates. By developing relationships with patients, primary care practitioners can encourage them to report problems earlier and deal with recurring issues with prior knowledge of the problem at hand. Incremental care focuses on the course of patients’ health over time, with understanding of the issue being provisional and the treatment constantly adjusted for success. Despite incremental care potentially costing more in the long term, in the shorter term it can help to diagnose and treat issues before they become critical. By taking into account the information on the patient’s internal health from lab results, the state of their living conditions, the state of their care (including medication and treatment) and information on patient behaviour such as sleep, stress and more, medical professionals can make much more informed decisions about treatment and care. In future, the introduction of wearable technology will provide constant health updates, making treatment even more personalised. However, incremental healthcare has yet to be recognised as a valid recipient of funding allocation, with the intervention style of care – found in orthopedics, cardiology, gastroenterology, dermatology and radiology – gaining the majority of payment. The lowest paid specialisms, such as family medicine, allergy/immunology, psychiatry, and HIV/infectious disease, along with palliative care, geriatrics, and headache specialisms, improve health over a long period of time through incremental care, but are just as valid. Despite the greatest causes of death being uncontrolled hypertension, or high blood pressure, incremental care which would be best suited to its treatment goes overlooked. The future of medicine will depend on the recognition of incremental care, and the reform of healthcare to ensure that health practices focus on the long term, rather than immediate fixes.