Posttransplantation care: Role of the primary care physician versus transplant center

Key Points 1 Forty percent of transplant centers expect the primary care physician to be the primary physician; 40% have both a primary care physician and a hepatologist manage the patient. 2 Transplant centers expect primary care physicians to provide general preventive medicine, physical examinations, vaccinations, and, rarely, management of hypertension, renal dysfunction, and diabetes. 3 A high percentage of primary care physicians feel comfortable caring and managing the overall health care of a long‐term liver transplant patient. 4 Primary care physicians feel at most ease managing preventive care, annual physical examinations, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, bone disease, and vaccinations. 5 Primary care physicians should be aware of the common medical conditions of the liver transplant patient of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and recurrent disease. 6 Common medical conditions for both the transplant centers and primary care physicians are hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, malignancy, bone disease, pregnancy, vaccination, infectious prophylaxis, and headaches.