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

According to a recent survey by the California Health Care Foundation, more than 11 million state residents struggle to get an appointment with a primary care doctor, let alone a specialist. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026

The other, comprising of Aetna, Caremark and two companies that CVS acquired that provide primary care and in-home health evaluations to senior citizens, will be called CVS Health in the interim. — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2026

The benefits of integration Aetna and Caremark will remain together in the healthcare company, alongside CVS’s specialty pharmacy, its primary care clinic Oak Street Health and its home-visit provider Signify Health. — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026

As far as prevention, going to regular checkups with a primary care physician is important to control risk factors and target the right therapy. — Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 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