Primary care service consists of all the services needed to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor the progress of health problems for individuals. This includes medical consultations, examinations, immunizations, medications and referrals to specialists.

Providing comprehensive health care services to patients across the lifespan, family medicine is a unique specialty. In 2010, more than a billion people visited family physicians in an ambulatory setting, making it one of the most popular primary care services.

Family medicine services are available in a wide variety of settings, from emergency departments to urgent care clinics and physicians' own practices. They can also be found in hospitals, nursing homes and online.