Family doctor is the main doctor for every family

Today, on May 19, it is the World Family Doctor Day.

This professional holiday has been celebrated since 2010, when it was introduced at the initiative of the World Organization of Family Doctors, which includes the Ukrainian Association of Family Doctors.

On December 6, 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Presidential Decree on the introduction of a new professional holiday — the Day of Family Medicine. It emphasizes the importance of the work of family doctors (general practitioners) in the public health system around the world. According to world statistics, in developed countries, 80 percent of all health-related problems are solved precisely at the stage of general practice.

In most countries, the family medicine system is the basis of national health care. Departments for the training of family doctors are being created in universities. The department of family medicine also works at ONMedU, which emphasizes the main, important role of such specialists in the prevention and treatment of diseases.

In Odesa, 6 primary health care centers have been opened, which include 73 family medicine clinics. More than 350 family doctors provide assistance to both Odessans and internally displaced persons. In 2022, 1,550,000 visits to family doctors were recorded in Odesa. After all, the patient turns to their family doctor with their complaints, and it is from such doctors that the success of further treatment depends.

In the conditions of martial law, doctors of family medicine and other specialties show heroism, courage and resilience when, risking their own lives, they stay with their patients in the occupied territories and in the combat zone. In calmer places, family doctors also work with an increased workload, accepting patients from other regions and providing them with psychological support from the stresses associated with explosions, shelling, and the death of loved ones.

Happy holiday to you, tireless workers of family medicine — the main link in solving health problems of every family.