Primary Care

Primary care routine checkups, lab testing, and preventive screenings protect your health and well-being. At Twin Ports Telemedicine based in Duluth, Minnesota, board-certified advanced family nurse practitioner Nikki Shockley, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, provides adults with primary care. Nikki completes most primary care services by telehealth but ensures at least one home visit every year for established patients. Call Twin Ports Telemedicine today to schedule a telehealth primary care appointment, or book your consultation online.

What is primary care?

Primary care provides a direct relationship with your health care provider. It diagnoses and treats acute and chronic health problems and offers routine health services, including bloodwork, preventive exams, and medical recommendations (referrals).

You don’t need to be sick to benefit from primary care. Nikki encourages all her patients to schedule a primary care visit at least once each year. Chronic conditions like high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes present few symptoms. Regular checkups protect your health and provide peace of mind.

What does primary care involve?

At Twin Ports Telemedicine, Nikki provides various primary care services by telehealth, including:

Acute care

Acute care diagnoses and treats minor illnesses and injuries like colds, bacterial infections, and sprains. Most acute care services can be handled online, but you might need to visit a nearby lab or clinic for tests, like a throat swab, X-rays, or urinalysis.

Chronic disease management

Chronic diseases like high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes require a lifetime of care. Changing your diet and lifestyle takes hard work and commitment, but chronic disease management makes things easier. Nikki provides lifestyle guidance and coaching to protect your health and keep you engaged.

Lab testing

Lab tests, like bloodwork and urinalysis, provide vital insights into your general health. Nikki can’t complete these tests via telehealth because they require sample collection. Instead, she refers you to a nearby lab.

Medication management

Nikki recommends medication management if you take two or more prescription drugs. This reduces your risk of interactions and side effects affecting your quality of life.

Men’s and women’s health

Men and women have unique medical needs that require sex-specific care. Nikki provides various men’s and women’s health services, including mammogram and prostate exam referrals, birth control prescriptions, and health coaching.

Medical recommendations

Nikki treats most health problems at Twin Ports Telemedicine. But if you need more personalized care, she can make medical recommendations (referrals) to nearby specialists.

Nikki conducts most primary care services online but provides each patient one home visit each year.

What are the benefits of primary care?

Primary care provides various benefits, including:

• Improved health
• Lower health care costs
• Easy access to treatment when you need it
• Peace of mind

Primary care reduces your risk of severe outcomes by identifying and treating potentially severe health problems when they’re easiest to treat.

Call Twin Ports Telemedicine today to schedule a primary care telehealth appointment, or book your visit online.