general practitioner

noun

: a physician or veterinarian whose practice is not limited to a specialty

broadly : generalist

Examples of general practitioner in a Sentence

Our family doctor is a general practitioner.

Recent Examples on the Web

Patients with heart failure are misdiagnosed at a rate of 16% in hospitals and nearly 70% when general practitioners refer patients to specialists, according to a study in the Journal of Cardiac Failure. —Steve Levine, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024

Experiences like Taylor’s aren’t unusual, said Louise Newson, a British general practitioner and menopause expert. —Victoria Bisset, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024

According to a 2022 survey of PMDD patients, over a third said their general practitioners had no knowledge of premenstrual disorders, and about 40% said their mental-health-care providers had no knowledge of premenstrual disorders. —Shalene Gupta, TIME, 4 Apr. 2024

Her general practitioner and a doctor friend, who'd ordered her blood tests, agreed: Eggers needed to get a mammogram. —Kimi Robinson, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2024

Dermatologists were less likely to prescribe medication to treat nail fungus than general practitioners. —Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 16 Nov. 2023

This network offers every type of healthcare service including general practitioners, specialists, pharmacies, hospitals, labs, X-ray facilities, speech therapists, home oxygen, and more. —Elizabeth Davis, Verywell Health, 27 Feb. 2024

Under Britain’s system, any patients wanting a cancer diagnosis need to begin with a visit their local family doctor, or general practitioner — because the only way to access tests or specialist care is via a referral from a GP. —Victoria Bisset, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024

However, the cost is much more affordable than in the United States — a dental cleaning starts from $33 and a visit with a general practitioner will cost you less than $65, ICI states. —Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 12 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

general practitioner

noun

: a physician or veterinarian whose practice is not limited to a specialty

Medical Definition

general practitioner

noun

: a physician or veterinarian whose practice is not limited to a specialty

Dr. Thomas, Sr., could carry virtually the full armamentarium of the medicine of his day in a single black bag, and very nearly all of medical knowledge in his head. Today the general practitioner is a vanishing breed, and specialists cannot use their time effectively traveling from patient to patient.

—John Steele Gordon, American Heritage

The primary-care doctor is gaining new respect in Washington. Battles may be breaking out left and right over the various health-care bills emerging from Congress, but reformers on both sides agree that general practitioners should be given a central role in uniting the fragmented U.S. medical system.

—Catherine Arnst, Business Week