primary care

American  

noun

1. medical care by a physician, or other healthcare professional, who is the patient's first contact with the healthcare system and who may recommend a specialist if necessary.

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Other Word Forms

• primary-care
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of primary care

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

primary care

She obtained a whole-body Prenuvo MRI even though her primary care physician told her she did not need one.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

Wellbeing Square in Newhaven, which brings together primary care, community wellbeing and leisure services in one location, officially opened on Thursday.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Olver runs the menopause clinic at Aneurin Bevan's health board and said "we have definitely seen a very sharp increase in testosterone referrals from primary care - for women wanting to access it".

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Though visits with a primary care doctor are covered by a DPC fee, patients still need insurance, on top of that annual fee, for medication, hospital stays, specialist visits, surgeries, and emergencies.

From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026

We’ve had people come in saying they want to sue some specialist, and we’ll say, ‘We don’t think that doctor was negligent. We think it’s your primary care doctor who was at fault.’

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell