Your health, your team
When you're feeling well or sick, you can turn to the primary care teams of Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Their team-based care helps you get the right care more easily, with fewer trips back to the clinic. Primary care is for people of all ages and helps prevent, diagnose and treat health concerns.
Primary care services are available at several locations in the Phoenix area. These include Family Medicine at Arrowhead, Phoenix, San Tan and Thunderbird, and Community Internal Medicine in Scottsdale.
Your care team focuses on your whole health and well-being. For some minor illnesses, you may be able to get care online or by phone.
What is a care team?
Your care team is your primary point of contact for getting the care you need in the most convenient and helpful way possible. The team includes you, doctors, nurse practitioners or physician assistants, nurses, medical assistants, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.
Primary care professionals specialize in family and internal medicine. They offer a wide range of preventive services, including checkups, health screenings and well-child exams. These professionals help you manage long-term health conditions and treat minor illnesses. If you need a specialist, such as a heart doctor (cardiologist) or cancer doctor (oncologist), they will help coordinate your care.
The advantages of care teams
- Easier access to care. Your care team makes getting help more convenient. Often your needs can be handled over the phone or through the Mayo Clinic Patient Portal. If you need to see a healthcare professional, they connect you with the right team member. For example, you may see a nurse for a vaccination or a nurse practitioner for treatment of an illness. Your care team will help decide the best care for you.
- Support for long-term and complex health needs. If you've been in the hospital, your care team will follow up to support your recovery. Care coordinators can help you manage multiple long-term health conditions and create a care plan based on what is most important to you.
- Whole-person care. Your care team listens to your questions and concerns, including medical, nutritional, social and medicine-related issues.
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Coordinated care with specialists. If you need a specialist, your primary care team can help find the right one. They also will stay involved in your overall care. You may be eligible for an electronic consult (eConsult), which can save time by avoiding extra appointments.
Your care team works with specialists to make sure your care plan fits your needs, lifestyle, and personal or family situation. They also can connect you with helpful community resources.
Mayo Clinic Primary Care in Arizona offers complete healthcare for every stage of life. Services include:
- Pediatric care, newborn through adolescence.
- Adult care, including health screenings, checkups, vaccinations and treatment for long-term health issues.
- Outpatient procedures.
- Same-day appointments for urgent needs.
- Online access through the patient portal.
- On-site lab testing.
- A 24/7 nurse phone line.
You may choose from several primary care locations. Not all services are available at each location. Appointment line staff can help you find the best option. You also may contact a triage nurse or your care team through secure messaging in the portal.
Mayo Clinic has one of the largest and most experienced practices in the United States, with campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. Staff skilled in dozens of specialties work together to ensure quality care and successful recovery.
Find doctors and medical staff:
Mayo Clinic has one of the largest and most experienced practices in the United States, with campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. Staff skilled in dozens of specialties work together to ensure quality care and successful recovery.
Who is primary care for?
Primary care is for people of all ages. No matter if you're healthy, sick or living with a long-term health issue, primary care supports your overall health and well-being. Primary Care in Arizona includes five valley locations, each of which serves different people and needs:
Primary Care — Community Internal Medicine
Primary Care — Family Medicine Arrowhead
Primary Care — Family Medicine Phoenix
Primary Care — Family Medicine San Tan
Primary Care — Family Medicine Thunderbird
What is a primary care professional?
Primary care professionals manage your overall health. They diagnose and treat short-term and long-term health issues and provide preventive care to help you stay healthy. They are often doctors, but they also may be nurse practitioners or physician assistants. Your primary care professional partners with other members of your team to give you the best care possible.
Some primary care doctors are in the Mayo Clinic residency program. You may hear them called residents. They are licensed doctors who have entered the phase of their extensive training that includes caring for patients in clinical practices. Mayo Clinic staff doctors partner with and guide the residents who provide your care.
Will I always see my assigned primary care professional?
Your primary care doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant is one member of your care team. They oversee your health needs and overall care. But sometimes your needs are better met by other more-specialized team members. These team members talk about the care they provide you with your primary care professional.
Who will see me at my next appointment?
The care team member you see at an appointment depends on your specific needs that day. Your team is committed to making sure you get the right care in the most supportive and convenient way possible. You may see a nurse for a vaccination or blood pressure check, or you may need an appointment with a doctor to diagnose and treat an illness.
What is a care team?
Mayo Clinic is always working to improve patient care. To help with this, your primary care professional and care team have started working more closely together. Some teams even share the same workspace. When you talk to one member of your care team, the whole team will talk about how best to help you. Each time you meet with your team, they will listen to all your health concerns and give you personalized advice to help you stay healthy or feel better.
What are the benefits of having a care team instead of seeing my own healthcare professional every time?
This team-based approach improves your care in several ways. Instead of just one person, you have a whole team supporting you. If you need to see a specialist, your care team will connect you to the right person. They will remind you when it's time for a checkup, vaccine or test. Often, you can get care faster because more people are ready to help you.
Why do I need to see a pharmacist?
Some care teams have a pharmacist. Pharmacists help you manage your medicines, avoid medicine safety problems and make cost-effective choices.
What are the benefits of seeing a registered nurse for an annual wellness visit?
Medicare has a program where registered nurses review your health needs with you. This makes visits with your primary care professional more efficient. Nurses will follow up with you about certain long-term conditions you have. They also can help with some of your regular checkups and health screenings.
Do I really need an annual exam?
You may not need an exam every year. It depends on your age, current and past health issues, and other things. You and your care team will decide when you need to get checkups, vaccines and health screening tests.
If you're worried about any health issues, don't wait for your next checkup. Call or send a secure message to your team to find out what kind of care you need.
Will I get a reminder each year about the preventive care I may need?
If you're not sure if you need a health screening test, checkup or vaccine and it wasn't talked about at your last visit, it's a good idea to call or send a secure message to your care team.
How can I refill a prescription?
If you filled your prescription at a pharmacy, you need to ask that pharmacy directly for a refill. Please allow up to 10 days to get your prescription.
Why should I contact my primary care team first when I have a specialty concern instead of going directly to the specialty area?
Your primary care team is your best place to start for any health concern. They know your health history and can help you get the right care. Sometimes it may seem easier to call specialty areas, such as urology, dermatology or ophthalmology, directly. But your care team can make sure you see the right specialist for your health need.
Who can help me figure out what care option is appropriate?
If you're not sure who to see about your symptoms, appointment line staff can guide you to the right level of care. If you know you need an appointment — such as for a well-child visit or a follow-up visit — they will help you schedule it. You also may reach a triage nurse or a care team member through secure messaging in the Mayo Clinic Patient Portal.
You scheduled me for an appointment with a social worker. How does this help me?
Social workers are working more closely with care teams. They talk with people about stress and other concerns and help them find the right services for support.
Primary care is very important for staying healthy. Regular checkups and health screening tests help find problems early, so they don't get worse. Primary care professionals also make sure that you get the right vaccines to protect you from diseases.
Mayo Clinic's primary care practices in Arizona are currently full and not accepting new patients. To help you find a primary care professional, Mayo Clinic looked at several other local providers. Four good options were chosen based on how well they care for patients, how happy patients are with their care and how easy it is to get an appointment. These providers are not part of Mayo Clinic. But they give you choices to find a primary care professional that works for you.
At Mayo Clinic Primary Care in Arizona, you have a team of people that work together to take care of you. They listen to your needs and goals and help you to achieve them.
Primary care professional
Primary care professionals oversee your care. They diagnose and treat health concerns, create care plans and support other members of your care team. Your primary care professional may be a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant.
Primary care doctors have expertise in family and internal medicine. Some doctors are in the Mayo Clinic residency program. You may hear them called residents. Residents are medical doctors who have entered the phase of their training that includes caring for patients in clinical practices. Mayo Clinic staff doctors partner with and guide the residents who provide your care.
Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with graduate-level education and clinical training. Physician assistants are licensed medical professionals who have graduated from an accredited physician assistant program. Both pass national certification exams to practice.
Your primary care professional also can connect you with specialists at Mayo Clinic, such as heart doctors (cardiologists) and cancer doctors (oncologists), when needed.
Registered nurses
If your primary care professional creates a personal care plan for you, a registered nurse can help coordinate it. Your nurse may:
- Provide education when you're diagnosed with a new condition.
- Check your blood pressure.
- Perform some well-child assessments.
- Perform some adult wellness screenings.
- Diagnose and suggest treatment for common illnesses, often over the phone.
Licensed practical nurses, medical assistants and clinical assistants
These team members help prepare you for your appointment, schedule screenings and give vaccinations.
Pharmacists
Pharmacists are an important part of your care team. They help you manage your medicines, avoid medicine safety problems, and find options that cost less when possible.
Social workers
Social workers are trained to help with many issues. They talk with people about stress and other concerns and help them find the right services for support.
Appointment line and customer service staff
When you call or message with a question or to schedule an appointment, appointment line and customer service staff connect you to the right service or care team member who can help you.
Nurse line
The nurse line is a service you can call anytime, day or night. It helps you get the care you need, often without having to leave your home.
The nurse line can help you:
- Talk to a nurse anytime.
- Determine if you can treat your concern at home or if you need to see a healthcare professional virtually or in person.
- Get prescriptions for certain health issues, which you can pick up at the pharmacy you choose.
Additional experts
When needed, your primary care team also can bring in experts such as physical therapists and mental health specialists. These experts can support you online or through virtual or in-person visits.
The care team members you see at your appointment will depend on your needs that day. Your team is here to give you the right care in the easiest and most helpful way possible.
Mayo Clinic's primary care teams include researchers who study different parts of healthcare. Their goal is to find better ways to provide care and support the team-based approach.
See a list of publications by primary care medicine experts at Mayo Clinic in Arizona on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.
Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of satisfied Mayo Clinic patients.