What Is the Difference Between Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Care

Question

Examlex · Accepted Answer

The Answer is Primary care is the essential component of the U.S health care system because it is the point of entry into the health care system where the patient makes first contact with the system. Primary care focuses on continuous and routine care of an individual. It may be delivered by a physician, nurse practitioner, midwives or physician's assistant. Categories of primary care practitioners usually include family practitioners, pediatricians, internal medicine providers, obstetricians and gynecologists, psychiatrists and emergency medicine physician. The focus of a primary care provider is to ensure accessibility to the system to the patient by coordinating the delivery of health care services. Primary care is often referred to as essential health care. Primary care services could include health education and counseling and other preventive services. Secondary care focuses on short-term interventions that may require a specialist's intervention. Examples of secondary care would include hospitalizations, routine surgery, specialty consultation and rehabilitation. Tertiary care is the most complex level of medical care for uncommon conditions. This type of care usually is based on a referral from a primary care provider. It is highly specialized and usually is delivered in specialty or research hospitals. Examples of tertiary care are organ transplants, bone marrow transplants and heart surgery. These procedures would also be performed by specialist physicians.

What Is the Difference Between Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Care

Definitions: