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Deb Gordon

Deborah D. Gordon has spent her career trying to level the playing field for healthcare consumers. She is co-founder of Umbra Health Advocacy, a marketplace for patient advocacy services, and co-director of the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates, the premiere membership organization for independent advocates. She is the author of "The Health Care Consumer's Manifesto: How to Get the Most for Your Money," based on consumer research she conducted as a senior fellow in the Harvard Kennedy School's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. Deb previously spent more than two decades in healthcare leadership roles, including chief marketing officer for a Massachusetts health plan and CEO of a health technology company. Deb is an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow, an Eisenhower Fellow and a Boston Business Journal 40-under-40 honoree. Her contributions have appeared in JAMA Network Open, the Harvard Business Review blog, USA Today, RealClear Politics, The Hill and Managed Care Magazine. She earned a BA in bioethics from Brown University and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

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A List of 10 Common Medical Specialties
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What Do Doctors Do? A List of 10 Common Medical Specialties

Medical specialists are experts in certain areas. Find out what conditions common medical specialities treat.

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When you need basic healthcare services, you can usually start with your primary care provider (PCP). PCPs give you regular checkups, recommended vaccinations and provide care when you’re not feeling great.

But if you have a more complicated health issue or concern, you may need to see a specialist. Specialists are healthcare providers with extra training and expertise in specific areas of medicine.

Here’s a quick guide to some common specialties and what they treat:

Allergist/Immunologists:

Cardiologists:

Dermatologists:

  • Skin issues, ranging from rashes and hives to psoriasis and skin cancer

Endocrinologists:

  • Disorders related to the endocrine system, which uses hormones to control and coordinate growth, metabolism and reproduction. Some endocrine-related conditions include diabetes, thyroid diseases, infertility, metabolic disorders, osteoporosis and certain cancers.

Gastroenterologists:

Neurologists:

  • Disorders of the nervous system, which includes the brain as well as the spinal cord and nerves.

Obstetricians/Gynecologists:

  • Women’s healthcare. Obstetrics is the field of medicine related to pregnancy and childbirth. Gynecology is the field of medicine focusing on women’s health and reproductive care, including perimenopause and postmenopause.

Oncologist:

  • Cancer. There are many different kinds of oncologists, such as those who specialize in surgery, medicine or radiation.

Ophthalmologist:

  • Eye care and vision conditions. Ophthalmologists should not be confused with optometrists, who perform eye exams and prescribe contact lenses and glasses but are not medical doctors, or with opticians, who can fit you for contact lenses or glasses once an ophthalmologist or optometrist writes you a prescription.

Urologist:

  • The urinary system, including your bladder, kidneys, ureters and urethra.
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