Family medicine, previously family practice, is an extensive medical specialty focused on comprehensive healthcare for individuals of all ages. The specialized professional is known as a family practitioner or family physician. In England, the field is sometimes known as general practitioner and a practitioner is usually a family practitioner or general practitioner doctor.
In Australia, the term family medicine refers to medical practitioners who specialize in family practice. They are called obstetricians/gynecologists, surgeons, radiologists, cardiologists, podiatrists, and other types of doctors. In some cases, family physicians may also refer patients to physicians who treat specific issues, such as orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, or rheumatologist physicians. These physicians are often referred as family practice physicians.
These physicians may be employed as consultants, teaching doctors, fellows, researchers, or educators. There are many different fields of specialization, including general medicine (e.g., geriatrics), preventive medicine (e.g., nutrition), and infectious disease (e.g., immunology and infectious diseases). The fields of specialization of family physicians vary by state or province. Learn more about this service on this page.
Although many states and provinces allow doctors to use certain names for their family practices, not all do. Many physicians prefer to use the term family physician to describe the doctors they practice family medicine services for, even though some doctors also work in family practices.
In many cases, a physician does not work as an internal medicine doctor (e.g., family medicine doctor, family practitioner doctor, etc.). Rather, he or she treats patients who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses, such as cancer. Doctors who specialize in this area of medical practice are called physicians in the fields of cardiology, infectious diseases, or internal medicine.
There are several types of financing available to those who choose to work in family practices. Patients can choose to pay through a health insurance plan, private insurance, government funding programs, or Medicare. A patient can choose from private payment plans that require a co-payment or payments by Medicare. or Medicaid.
There are also private financing plans for families with the goal of reducing the costs of healthcare for the patients. Private financing for family practices can be offered by health insurance companies, employers, banks, health maintenance organizations, drugstores, government agencies, or other institutions. These private payment programs do not require patients to pay a co-payment or deductible.
Family practices generally are located inside a doctor's office. They typically are open seven days per week, Monday through Saturday, although some practices can be open on holidays and weekends. In many places, they can be located anywhere where the physician has an office, including doctors' homes, hospitals, or nursing homes. In some states, a clinic may also be owned by the physician.
Family practitioners are an essential part of many countries' health care system. Physicians may belong to different professional organizations, including the American College of Family Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Dentists, American Board of Family Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics, and others. This post will help you understand the topic even better: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician.
