By Harveer Parmar, MD – Family Physician, Lewisville, TX
So here’s what I tell patients when they ask me what makes a good local primary care specialist—and honestly, this comes up more than you’d think. Look, I’ve been practicing family medicine here in Lewisville for years now, and what I’ve learned is that the best primary care isn’t about fancy equipment or corporate medicine models. It’s about knowing your community, understanding North Texas health patterns, and actually having time to listen. At Health Express Clinics, we’ve built our family medicine services around comprehensive healthcare that treats you like a person, not just another number in the EMR system.
What Even Is a Primary Care Specialist Anyway?
But then patients ask me, “Dr. Parmar, what’s the difference between you and a specialist?” And I get it. The terminology is confusing.
Here’s how I explain it: A primary care specialist—which yes, sounds like an oxymoron—is your first point of contact for pretty much everything. We’re specialists in being generalists. Family medicine services cover everything from pediatrics to geriatrics, from mental health to minor procedures. We manage about 85-90% of what walks through our door without referring out.
There are days when I’m treating a kid’s ear infection at 9 AM, discussing hormone replacement therapy at 10, managing someone’s diabetes at 11, and doing a joint injection at noon. That’s comprehensive healthcare in action—you need someone who knows you, knows your family, knows your medications without pulling up your chart every time.
The North Texas Factor Nobody Talks About
Now here’s something most articles about primary care won’t tell you. Geography matters more than people think. Being a local primary care specialist in Lewisville isn’t the same as practicing anywhere else.
We see different disease patterns here. The seasonal allergies in North Texas are brutal—cedar fever from December through February turns half my patient panel into walking histamine reactions. High rates of diabetes and hypertension in certain demographics. The heat affects medication compliance because people don’t want to go outside when it’s 105 degrees.
Plus, our patient population is incredibly diverse. In a single morning at Health Express Clinics, I might see patients who speak English, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic… The diversity means I have to understand different cultural approaches to healthcare, different family structures, different beliefs about what even constitutes “being sick.”
What We Actually Do All Day
So patients sometimes ask me what a typical day looks like. And I laugh because there’s no such thing as typical.
This morning I started with a pre-op physical for a guy getting knee surgery. Had to review his medications—he was on eight different things from four different doctors, and two of them had potential interactions nobody caught. That’s primary care. Then I saw a college student with what she thought was mono but turned out to be severe anxiety manifesting as physical symptoms.
Family medicine services aren’t just the face-to-face visits. We’re coordinating care between specialists, managing medication lists, dealing with insurance companies, and trying to keep up with medical literature that changes faster than I can read it.
The Coordination Thing That Nobody Prepared Me For
Actually, let me talk about something medical school completely glossed over. Care coordination. It sounds boring, but it’s probably the most valuable thing a local primary care specialist does.
I’ve got patients seeing multiple specialists, and somebody has to make sure all these doctors are talking to each other. Last month, a patient came in—veteran using both VA care and private specialists—on blood thinners from his cardiologist, just started an antibiotic from his dentist, and his pain management doctor had recently increased his gabapentin. Nobody had looked at the whole picture. The interaction potential was concerning. We had to coordinate with all three providers and adjust doses.
That’s comprehensive healthcare. Someone looking at all the pieces together instead of individual specialty silos.
Why “Local” Matters More Than You’d Think
But here’s something I’ve become really passionate about. The “local” part of local primary care specialists isn’t just marketing—it’s clinically relevant.
When I see patients from Lewisville, Flower Mound, Highland Village, The Colony, Carrollton… I know the local pharmacies, which urgent cares are good, which specialists actually return phone calls. I know traffic on I-35 means some patients can’t make early morning appointments.
If I prescribe a medication, I know whether local pharmacies stock it. If someone needs physical therapy, I know which places accept their insurance. During COVID, this became obvious. We knew which testing sites were backed up, which pharmacies had rapid tests, because we were navigating it ourselves right here in the community.
The Relationship Factor
Now, something I used to underestimate. The relationship continuity you get with family medicine services makes a huge clinical difference.
I’ve got patients I’ve been seeing for fifteen years. When someone comes in with a new symptom, I’m not starting from zero—I’ve got context. Pattern recognition isn’t just about medical patterns. It’s about knowing when someone’s “not quite right” even if all the objective data looks okay.
I had a patient last week who came in saying he just felt “off.” No specific symptoms, vitals normal, exam unremarkable. But I’d been seeing him for years, and something was different. Pushed a bit harder, ordered some labs, found early-stage diabetes we caught way earlier than we would have otherwise.
You can’t do that kind of medicine when you’re seeing someone for the first time.
What Makes Our Approach at Health Express Different
So look, I’m obviously biased. But I’ll try to explain what we’re doing at Health Express Clinics that feels different.
We schedule appointment times that allow for real conversations. When you’re not rushing through twelve-minute appointments, you can actually practice medicine properly. We’ve built a team approach—nurses who know our patient panel, front desk staff who recognize returning patients, a care coordinator who helps navigate specialist referrals.
We’ve maintained our identity as a local practice rather than getting absorbed into a massive healthcare system. We have decision-making authority right here in Lewisville rather than at some corporate headquarters. And we’ve focused on accessibility—same-day appointments when possible, extended hours, a real person answering phones.
Common Misconceptions About Primary Care
But then patients ask me—or sometimes they don’t ask but clearly think—certain things about primary care that aren’t quite accurate.
Misconception one: Primary care is just for simple stuff. Not true. We manage diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, COPD, depression, anxiety… these are serious conditions handled every day in family medicine.
Misconception two: All primary care doctors are basically the same. We have different training backgrounds, practice styles, areas of interest. Finding a local primary care specialist who matches your needs actually matters.
Misconception three: You should only see your primary care doctor when you’re sick. Actually, the opposite. The most valuable visits are preventive ones. I had a patient recently—successful businessman, never came in because he “felt fine.” Finally came in at his wife’s insistence. Found significantly elevated blood pressure, borderline diabetes, cholesterol through the roof. Started treatment, and a year later he’s doing great. But if he’d kept waiting…
What to Look for in Your Local Primary Care Specialist
Let me talk practically about finding good primary care. Whether it’s us at Health Express or another practice, here’s what matters.
Accessibility. Can you get appointments when you need them? Do they have a system for urgent issues? Communication style matters too—do you feel heard? Does the doctor explain things clearly? Are they willing to discuss treatment options?
Comprehensiveness of services. Do they handle a wide range of issues? Family medicine services should include preventive care, chronic disease management, acute illness, minor procedures, mental health screening—not that any single doctor does everything, but the practice should be equipped for broad primary care.
And honestly? Trust your gut. If something feels off about a practice, that’s information.
Why We Chose Lewisville for Health Express
Let me talk about why this location matters. We deliberately chose Lewisville to serve this North Texas community because the area needed quality primary care that wasn’t part of a massive corporate system. Patients were either going to urgent cares for everything or driving across town to see their doctors.
The demographic diversity here is clinically interesting. We’ve got young families, retirees, multi-generational households, people from all over the world. That diversity makes you a better doctor because you can’t rely on cookie-cutter approaches.
This community deserved comprehensive healthcare that treated people like individuals, not billing codes.
The Final Word
So if you’ve made it this far… thanks for sticking with me.
Here’s the takeaway: Local primary care specialists are the foundation of good healthcare. Not the glamorous part, but the part that actually keeps people healthy over decades.
Family medicine services at their best combine clinical expertise with relationship continuity with care coordination with community knowledge. At Health Express Clinics here in Lewisville, we’re trying to practice comprehensive healthcare that gives primary care the time and attention it deserves.
If you’re looking for a local primary care specialist in the Lewisville area, look for someone who knows the community, takes time to know you as a person, and treats comprehensive healthcare as more than a buzzword.
Call us at 469-444-0955.
Frequently Asked Questions About Primary Care
What exactly does a local primary care specialist do that other doctors don’t?
We’re your healthcare quarterback. We know your complete medical picture and coordinate everything. When you see specialists, they focus on one organ system. We look at the whole person. At Health Express Clinics, we take that coordination role seriously because it prevents medication interactions and duplicated tests. We also handle about 85-90% of what walks through the door without needing to refer out.
How do I know if I need primary care or if I should go straight to a specialist?
Start with primary care for pretty much everything except obvious emergencies. We can diagnose and manage most conditions, and for the rest, we know when to refer and who to refer to. Going straight to specialists without primary care coordination is expensive and means nobody’s looking at your overall health. If you’ve got chest pain or severe trauma, yes, go to the ER. But for most things, family medicine is your starting point.
What’s included in comprehensive healthcare at a primary care practice?
At our practice, comprehensive healthcare means preventive care like annual physicals and cancer screenings, chronic disease management for diabetes and hypertension, acute illness care, minor procedures, mental health screening and treatment, women’s health, medication management, and care coordination with specialists. We handle the broad range of primary care needs that cover most of what you’ll need throughout your life.
Doctor, when should I worry about finding a new primary care doctor?
Red flags: you consistently can’t get appointments when you need them, your doctor never makes eye contact, you feel rushed or dismissed, they’re not willing to discuss treatment options, communication with their office is consistently difficult. If you’re fundamentally unhappy with your care, you deserve better. Continuity matters, so I wouldn’t switch over minor annoyances. But if the relationship isn’t working, look around.
How often should I actually see my primary care doctor if I’m healthy?
Young healthy adults in their twenties and thirties with no chronic conditions—probably once a year for a physical. Once you hit forty, definitely annual visits because that’s when we start more intensive screening. If you have chronic conditions, you’re probably seeing us three to four times a year depending on how controlled things are. I’d rather see patients regularly for preventive care than only when they’re sick. We catch so much stuff early that way.