What is specialty care?

 

Specialty care is an area of health care focused on a specific area of medicine or specific types of symptoms and conditions. Specialty care providers (also known as specialists) include doctors as well as other specialists such as nurses and physical therapists.

Specialty care providers address chronic (ongoing) conditions like heart disease and osteoporosis as well as acute (sudden) conditions like a heart attack or a broken bone. Patients may also see a specialist for certain preventive services, such as a mammogram or colonoscopy.

Examples of specialty care areas include:

  • Oncology – cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention
  • Nephrology – kidney disorders
  • Orthopedics – bone and connective tissue disorders
  • Cardiology – heart disorders
  • Psychiatry – mental health and substance use disorder
  • Endocrinology – health conditions related to the body’s hormones

In some cases, a primary care provider may refer a patient to a specialist. In other cases, patients might seek care directly with a specialist. In either case, research suggests that when a primary care provider and a specialist coordinate care, it results in better health outcomes.

Why specialty care coordination is important?

 

People often have multiple health issues that require the care of more than one specialist. Moreover, a specialist may only focus on a specific problem and therefore, may not consider how that problem interacts with the person’s other health issues, health-related social needs (such as food insecurity or a lack of safe housing) or lifestyle.

 

That is why care coordination is important for achieving optimal health. Care coordination helps to ensure that all of a person’s health issues are considered and that treatment plans delivered across multiple specialists and a primary care provider will work together.