primary care

noun

: health care provided by a medical professional (such as a general practitioner, pediatrician, or nurse) with whom a patient has initial contact and by whom the patient may be referred to a specialist

—often used before another noun

a primary care physician

called also primary health care

compare secondary care, tertiary care

Examples of primary care in a Sentence

He provides primary care to inner-city patients.

Recent Examples on the Web

Distinct from primary care, often called family, internal or pediatric medicine, specialties have been shown to consume a larger share of the nation’s health spending. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026

Florida law requires that insurance plans ensure adequate, timely access to in-network primary care and specialists, a provision known as network adequacy. —Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2026

And unlike existing addiction medications, which are prescribed by specialists and remain vastly underused, GLP-1 drugs are already prescribed at enormous scale by primary care doctors. —Ziyad Al-Aly, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2026

And unlike existing addiction medications, which are prescribed by specialists and remain vastly underused, GLP-1 drugs are already prescribed at enormous scale by primary care doctors. —Ziyad Al-Aly, The Conversation, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for primary care

• concessionaire
• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare

Medical Definition

primary care

noun

: health care provided by a medical professional (as a general practitioner or a pediatrician) with whom a patient has initial contact and by whom the patient may be referred to a specialist for further treatment

—often used attributively

primary care physicians

primary care practice

primary care medicine

called also primary health care

compare secondary care, tertiary care