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

The name change should also open the door for wider research with a bigger funding pool, Teede said, and encourage specialists—like endocrinologists, cardiologists, and psychologists—to start working with patients alongside gynecologists and primary care providers. —Jenna Anderson, Health, 13 May 2026

Careful, months-long tapering requires a skill set and a time commitment that most primary care settings are not structured to provide. —Jonathan Slater, STAT, 13 May 2026

Insurers pay family doctors the least and specialists the most, which explains the perpetual shortage of primary care providers. —Chris Tomlinson, Houston Chronicle, 7 May 2026

Chris went to both urgent care and his primary care doctor, only to be told that his breathing was fine. —Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 2 May 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