Primary Care Physicians Defined

PCPs must fall into one of three specific categories. Even though there are 24 different medical specialties, most cannot be PCPs. The three types of PCPs are as follows.

• General practitioners or family practitioners are those doctors who can care for all members of the family. They typically have training in a variety of areas and are well equipped to deal with overseeing the health of those from infancy through old age. This used to be a common specialty but is less so now.
  
  
• Internal medicine specialists or internists are doctors who diagnose and treat a variety of diseases. They often have sub-specialties which may include a certain age group, certain illnesses or certain organs. They do not perform surgery.
  
  
• Pediatricians are doctors who specialize in the health of children from birth to adolescence. Some pediatricians stop treating patients who are as young as 14 although others will continue to age 18. There are many different sub-specialties in pediatrics also.

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