What is the difference between a primary care physician and specialist physician?

Answer 1

The primary physician is a general doctor. You would see him/her first if you were having any problems or for routine checkups. If you need to see a specialist then your primary physician will refer you to another doctor. The benefit of having a primary care physician is you have one doctor who is aware of all of your health issues. Most are real good about sending you to someone else if needed and most insurance companies prefer that you see your primary doctor first. Some specialist won't even see patients unless they have been referred by another doctor.

Answer 2

A primary care physician, or PCP, is a physician who provides both the first contact for a person with an undiagnosed health concern as well as continuing care of varied medical conditions, not limited by cause, organ system, or diagnosis.
A specialist in internal medicine or one of its many sub-specialties (especially as opposed to a specialist in surgery). This traditional meaning of physician still conveys a sense of expertise in treatment by drugs or medications, rather than by the procedures of surgeons

Answer 3

A primary care physician is the main doctor you see once a year, or every six months, whatever it is, the one you call to tell them you feel sick etc. A Specialist is someone who works in a certain area, you're usually referred to them if you have a problem your primary can't solve. Like my dr. sent me to a hand specialist to check out the pain in my wrist.

Answer 4

The difference is that a primary physician like deals with any problem you have like bladder infection ,cold's just milder things,a specialist deal's with like just the heart,kidney's they deal with one area of the boby

Answer 5

primary care is more of a all around doctor who deals mostly with colds and a specialist is a doctor who specializes in only that field or that organ in the body

Answer 6

Primary care is just like a family doctor that treats most things. Specialist is for certain things like dermatologist(skin doctor), cardiologists(heart doctor) or peditricians(childrens doctor).

Answer 7

a primary care physican (pcp) can take care of anything and everything - from pimples to hemmorrhoids to ingrown toenails to dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, etc. If they feel that your problem is out of their general expertise, then they refer you to a specialist, that is a podiatrist - who specialises in feet - or a cardiologist or a urologist, etc. Then there are subspecialties - some urologists only see certain bladder problems, others only see female patients, others only males, others only urethra problems - some gastro doctors only see irritable bowel, others see only barrett's esophagus, etc.

Answer 8

a primary care physician is like 'JACK OF ALL AND KING OF NONE'
A SPECIALIST PHYSICIAN is a king of his own domain