Many people unfortunately wait until they’re sick to find a doctor. Delaying preventative care or avoiding regular checkups could set you up for some unexpected health complications in the future. That’s why it’s important to choose a primary care provider (PCP).
Your PCP can help you stay healthy with regular checkups, preventive health care screenings, and vaccinations. They can also help you manage serious medical conditions, like high blood pressure, cancer, and diabetes. Your PCP also can connect you to highly trained medical specialists when you need advanced or specialized care.
The PCP you select can be a family or general practitioner, an internist, or an ob-gyn. Children and teens can have a pediatrician as their PCP.
Choosing the Right PCP
Here are a few tips to help you find the right PCP for you:
- The UPMC Find a Doctor tool can help you narrow your search based on various criteria that is important to you.
- Ask family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers for recommendations.
- Make sure that the doctor accepts your insurance and is affiliated with hospitals included in your health care coverage.
UPMC Health Plan Members
Here’s how you can choose a PCP
- Use the UPMC Health Plan mobile app: Open the app, tap Care, then choose “Select a PCP” to access our provider directory.
- Sign in to MyHealth OnLine: Log in and select “Find Care” to access our provider directory. Once you have chosen a PCP, click the Select as My PCP button. If you need help, call Member Services at the number on your member ID card.
Attention,
UPMC Health Plan Members
If you’re a UPMC Health Plan Member, selecting or updating your primary care provider on the UPMC MyHealth Online portal is one of the two health preventive activities you need to earn $75.
Here are the others:
- Mammogram
- Colorectal Screening
- Cervical Cancer Screening
- Diabetes Retinal eye exam
- A1C Screening (Diabetes)
- Dental Exam
- Eye Exam
Visit the Thrive folder in the Resource Center on Vincentian computers for the details.