Primary care??

[dustin04ag]

I was wondering if you guys could help me out. Is emergency medicine considered Primary Care?

Thanks from a confused Pre-med

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[stoic]

In Kansas, EM is considered primary care by the osteopathic association. This may vary state to state. Spend some time in an ER.... 95% of the cases could be considered primary care.

 

[Iron Horse]

That depends on who you're asking. The health profession does not consider e med primary care, but many of the 40 million plus uninsured do.

 

[mikecwru]

Originally posted by dustin04ag
I was wondering if you guys could help me out. Is emergency medicine considered Primary Care?

Thanks from a confused Pre-med

The last I checked, the National Health Services Corp does not consider EM to be primary care, but most military branches do for any of their programs (they will take EM doctors). I'm sure if you asked the major professional societies for EM they would lean more towards referring to it as a "specialty," but I think this is primarily because of the newness of EM and they hold this stance to argue a case. You do see and treat a lot of primary care problems.... you are a lot of times a family doc for the uninsured.

mike

 

[Sheerstress]

The others have it right. Part of the definition of being a "primary care" physician is that one would be the first physician whom a person would contact for a medical problem.

This generally refers to FPs, internists, and pediatricians, but everyone here knows that for those who are uninsured, who are injured after office hours, and those who have no one to call, the emergency physician is the one to which they turn.

 

[Apollyon]

Exactly...spend one day in the ED, and "ERPC" (ER Primary Care) is evident.

For me, the saving grace is that I can cut the patient off, and not have to listen to them go on and on and on and on and on....

For those of you that have to do prelim, clinic just suxx...