Internal Medicine

Our internal medicine doctors look after adults, whether you have a single health concern or several long-term conditions to manage. They're trained to see the whole picture and to get to the bottom of symptoms that don't point to one obvious cause. When your care needs more than one kind of expert, they bring the right specialists together.

What is internal medicine?

Internal medicine is the care of adults, and an internal medicine doctor, or internist, is an adult's general physician, not tied to a single organ. Internists diagnose and manage illness that affects one body system or several at once, from common problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes to more complex ones, often over many years. Internal medicine is also the field the organ specialities grow from, such as cardiology and gastroenterology.

When should you see an internal medicine doctor?

Book an appointment if you notice:

• Tiredness that doesn't lift with rest
• Losing weight without meaning to
• A fever that keeps coming back
• Two or more long-term conditions to manage together
• Symptoms that don't clearly point to one part of the body

You don't need to wait until you feel unwell. From your 40s especially, a regular health check can pick up raised blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar before you notice anything, and these are easiest to treat when they're caught early. Others see an internist to review a long-term condition and keep it stable. Internal medicine is for adults; children and routine primary care are the work of family medicine and general practice. Whether you need a referral first can depend on your insurer, which you can check when you book.

What to expect

At your first appointment, the internist asks about your symptoms and the medicines you take, then examines you. Your medical history, your family history and your daily habits also shape your risk, so they'll go through these too. Because the causes can be wide-ranging, blood and urine tests are common first steps, and you might have a heart tracing known as an ECG or a scan to look inside the body. The internist brings these results together to reach a diagnosis, sometimes over more than one visit.

What comes next depends on the findings. Many conditions are managed with a mix of lifestyle changes, medicines and regular check-ups, adjusted over time as your health changes. If your problem needs an organ specialist, your internist refers you on and keeps track of your care across the team. They'll talk you through the options and agree the next step with you.

Internal medicine at Mediclinic

We care for adults through internal medicine teams based at our hospitals and clinics. You'll find these departments in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Our internists diagnose and treat a wide range of conditions, from a first set of tests through to long-term care. They draw on our on-site laboratory and X-ray services.

If you're admitted to hospital, our internal medicine teams provide inpatient care, with monitoring until you're ready to leave. When a condition needs regular follow-up, the same team can stay with you over the years, keeping your treatment on track as things change.