Knowra Family medicine Family medicine Family medicine is a medical specialty that provides continuous, comprehensive care for people of all ages, often across multiple generations of a family.
Primary care : First-contact, continuous health care that addresses common needs and coordinates further treatment. Family medicine is a major specialty through which people receive primary care.
Comprehensive care : Health care that addresses a broad range of physical, mental, and social health needs. Breadth across problems and life stages defines family medicine’s scope.
Internal medicine : The medical specialty focused on preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases in adults. Internal medicine generally centers on adults, while family medicine also includes children.
Gatekeeping in health care : A system in which a designated clinician coordinates access to specialist services. Family physicians often serve as the first point of contact and referral coordinator.
Value-based health care : A payment and delivery approach that links health care incentives to outcomes and quality rather than service volume alone. Its measures can reward prevention and coordination, but may not capture relationship-based work well.
Preventive medicine : Medicine focused on preventing disease and promoting health through interventions before illness occurs. Routine prevention is built into care across the lifespan.
Biopsychosocial model : A framework explaining health and illness through interacting biological, psychological, and social factors. Family physicians often consider circumstances beyond a diagnosis when planning care.
General practice : A broad form of medical practice providing first-contact care without necessarily denoting a particular specialty training pathway. The label can describe broad practice, while family medicine names a defined specialty.
Care coordination : The deliberate organization of services and information among clinicians, patients, and care settings. Broad-scope practice connects specialist advice with a person’s overall care plan.
Fee-for-service : A payment model that reimburses clinicians separately for each service delivered. This model can favor billable visits over time spent coordinating comprehensive care.
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