Primary care’s role has diminished and changed in recent years. What used to be a respected practice involving generalist knowledge and management of medicine has increasingly functioned as its own subspecialty, with a focus being continuity of care for those more likely to have chronic conditions, like older adults. The increasing popularity of urgent care clinics is also a reinforcer of this development, with our tech-informed population more confident about their general wellness.

Primary care used to be considered the cornerstone of preventive healthcare, where annual check-ups were done to monitor general health and wellness. During the visit, you would usually discuss health advice. It was the first point of contact for the general population to evaluate their health in a more manageable and continuous way, possibly leading to better diagnoses thanks to a developing clinical history. Then, if complications arose, you would be recommended to a specialist.

Now, primary care medicine is one of the least sought after specialties, and primary care physicians are paid less than those in more specialized fields. The electronic medical record implementation and time limitations on visits only lessen the experience and continuity of care that is given and increase the overall burnout rate of physicians.

With the increased availability of medical and health knowledge online, people have become more aware about their wellness and are able to explore their symptoms themselves. Furthermore, with the increasing use of artificial intelligence, medicine is vulnerable to a self-validation cycle. People now tend to seek more specialists and ask questions like, “What if I have this, doctor?” instead of “Is there anything wrong with me?”

Primary care has its own integral place in healthcare, and prevention should become a major focus for every sector involved in healthcare: the government, private insurance, patients and the healthcare itself. A focus on preventative care will allow for a decrease in the number of chronic illnesses, a reduction in the incidence risk and a limitation of highly invasive procedures, allowing for resources to be used in different aspects to keep researching and developing our world- leading system.