The most important health tips from your internist

For many Americans, the internist is the entry point into the health care system, whose primary role is to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases that affect adults. Yet before they even set foot in their internist's office, nearly all of them are bombarded with aggressive product marketing, misguided opinions on social media, and various other sociocultural forces that can undermine their health and the doctor-patient relationship. One of the biggest challenges facing internists, then, is ensuring that patients turn to them first and foremost when they want health education.

Here is a list of AMA's What doctors want to tell patients™ series – which provides a platform for physicians to share what they want to tell their patients about current healthcare headlines – includes some important health tips that internists want to share with their patients.

1. 1. There is a reason why we talk about the common cold. It is common, especially in winter. With a runny nose, sore throat and persistent cough, patients' desire for effective cold remedies is understandable. But do cold remedies help relieve cold symptoms? That depends. But the key is knowing how to relieve a cold and which cold remedies to use.
   2. There are more than 200 viruses that can cause the common cold, but rhinoviruses are the most common type, sickening more than 3 million people in the U.S. each year. Symptoms of a cold usually peak within three to five days and may include sneezing, stuffy and runny nose, sore throat, cough, and fever. Some symptoms – particularly runny or stuffy nose and cough – may last up to 14 days, but improve over time.
   3. One of the physicians who took the time to share her insights on the topic was internist Jeanine Bulan, MD, who is the associate chief physician for primary care and population health at Atlantic Medical Group, part of Atlantic Health System.
   4. Atlantic Health System is a member of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leaders, physicians and care teams with resources to advance the future of medicine.
2. 1. Has anyone in your family had breast cancer? What about heart disease or high blood pressure? What about drug and alcohol use or your family's mental health? This information is part of your family's health history and an important indicator of your overall health risk.
   2. Understanding and sharing one's family health history is a key aspect of proactive health management. By openly communicating and documenting family health history, patients can provide doctors with valuable insights into possible genetic vulnerabilities and hereditary diseases. This also forms the basis for more personalized and targeted medical care. Dr. Jason Ricks, internist at Atlantic Health System, tells more.
3. 1. Health status is not determined by medical interventions alone. Rather, it is strongly influenced by factors that extend far beyond the walls of a hospital or examination room. From the neighborhoods in which patients live to the economic resources available to them, social factors of health – also called social determinants of health – play a critical role in a person's susceptibility to disease, access to health care, and the effectiveness of medical treatments.
   2. Although often overlooked, understanding and acknowledging social determinants of health can help patients take responsibility for their health. At the same time, physicians and health organizations have a role to play in recognizing these factors and working with community partners to address them. Three physicians have outlined what every patient should know about social determinants of health.
   3. Among the doctors who shared their opinions was Eboni Price-Haywood, MD, MPH, who is an internist and medical system director of Ochsner Health's Healthy State initiative. She is also medical director of the Ochsner Xavier Institute for Health Equity and Research. Ochsner Health is another member of the AMA Health System Program
4. 1. In 2021, life expectancy in the United States fell for the second year in a row—this time to its lowest level since 1996. This was a disturbing reversal of the historical trend. In 1900, life expectancy in the United States was 47 years, and by 2019 it had fallen to 79 years. But in 2020, it fell to 77 years and further to 76.4 years in 2021, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
   2. This alarming trend was clearly not an anomaly and was primarily due to heart disease, cancer, COVID-19 and the ongoing drug overdose epidemic. The same report found that heart disease remains the leading cause of death, followed by cancer and COVID-19, which accounted for about 60% of the decline in life expectancy. Meanwhile, overdose deaths – which accounted for more than a third of all accidental deaths in the U.S. – had increased fivefold over the past two decades. Life expectancy recovered somewhat in 2022 but remained below pre-pandemic numbers. Three doctors discussed why life expectancy is declining and what to do about it.
5. 1. An online patient portal is a website that provides access to personal health information. The patient portal is helpful for patients to keep track of their doctor visits, test results, bills, prescriptions, and insurance, among other things. However, according to a study published in, patient portal inbox messages have increased by 157% since 2020. JAMIA, This places an additional burden on physicians and their treatment teams.
   2. Knowing how and when to use the patient portal can improve patient outcomes and reduce the workload that leads to physician burnout. Three physicians have summarized what physicians and patients should consider when using a patient portal.
6. 1. While vitamins and supplements can have positive health effects, they also carry health risks. Notably, the Food and Drug Administration does not have the authority to review supplements for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. And with more than 90,000 different supplements on the market, it can be confusing to figure out what is safe and what is not. Two AMA members outlined what doctors want patients to know about vitamins and supplements.

For effective doctor-patient communication, it is important that both parties speak from shared knowledge. The AMA series, What Doctors Wish Patients Knew™, covers dozens of health topics, including Lyme disease, norovirus, and obesity medications.