Dr Spoorthi is an American board-certified internal medicine doctor. As an internist, she is a physician focused on the care of adults emphasizing use of the best medical science available in caring for patients in the context of thoughtful and meaningful doctor-patient relationships. She has spent years in training in medical school and post-graduate training – dedicated to learning how to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases that affect adults. Dr Spoorthi, during her tenure in the US, was often called upon to act as consultant to other physicians to help solve puzzling diagnostic problems.

Dr Spoorthi entered into practice following completion of her internal medicine training. She is equipped to handle the broad and comprehensive spectrum of illnesses that affect adults, and is recognized as an expert in diagnosis, in treatment of chronic illness, and in health promotion and disease prevention. As an internist, she is not limited to one type of medical problem or organ system. Internists such as Dr. Spoorthi are equipped to deal with whatever problem a patient brings—no matter how common or rare, or how simple or complex. They are specially trained to solve puzzling diagnostic problems and can handle severe chronic illnesses and situations where several different illnesses may strike at the same time.

Although internists may act as primary care physicians, they are not “general practitioners,“ or “family physicians,“ whose training is not solely concentrated on adults and may include pediatrics, obstetrics, and surgery.

Internal Medicine

Preventive medicine focuses on the health of individuals and communities in which the goal is to promote health and well-being and prevent disease, disability, and death. Impressive evidence supports the value of clinical preventive medicine, defined as the maintenance and promotion of health and the reduction of risk factors that result in injury and disease. Primary prevention activities deter the occurrence of a disease or adverse event (e.g., smoking cessation). Secondary prevention (screening) is the early detection of a disease or condition in an asymptomatic stage, so treatment delays or impedes the occurrence of symptoms (e.g., mammographic detection of breast cancer). Tertiary prevention attempts aim to restrain and inhibit adverse consequences of existing clinical disease from occurring, (e.g., cardiac rehabilitation), and prevent the recurrence of myocardial infarction.

Preventive services have been shown to decrease morbidity and mortality from both acute and chronic conditions. However, these services are underutilized for various reasons, given the barriers associated with accessing and utilizing these services, which include physician, patient, and health system factors.