Primary care physician vs doctor

The differences between primary care physicians and doctors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a primary care physician has an average salary of $214,843, which is higher than the $208,582 average annual salary of a doctor.

The top three skills for a primary care physician include patients, internal medicine and family practice. The most important skills for a doctor are patients, customer service, and emergency medicine.

Primary care physician vs doctor overview

	Primary Care Physician	Doctor
Yearly salary	$214,843	$208,582
Hourly rate	$103.29	$100.28
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	130,606	14,571
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	-

What does a primary care physician do?

A Primary Care Physician is responsible for providing regular medical care for their patients. They provide personal assistance, medical attention, and emotional support to others, such as coworkers, customers, and patients.

What does a doctor do?

A doctor is a medical expert who diagnoses and treats illnesses and injuries, often specializing in particular areas. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial interviews and examinations, studying a patient's medical history and laboratory results, providing consultations and care advice, prescribing medication, and referring patients to specialists when necessary. They must also coordinate and maintain an active communication line with nurses, administrators, and technicians for a smooth workflow. Moreover, a doctor must educate patients about their health conditions, helping them understand their situation better.

Primary care physician vs doctor salary

Primary care physicians and doctors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Primary Care Physician	Doctor
Average salary	$214,843	$208,582
Salary range	Between $134,000 And $344,000	Between $106,000 And $408,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Green Bay, WI
Highest paying state	North Dakota	Ohio
Best paying company	Alameda Health System	Saint Luke's Health System
Best paying industry	Insurance	Health Care

Differences between primary care physician and doctor education

There are a few differences between a primary care physician and a doctor in terms of educational background:

	Primary Care Physician	Doctor
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Primary care physician vs doctor demographics

Here are the differences between primary care physicians' and doctors' demographics:

	Primary Care Physician	Doctor
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 49.4% Female, 50.6%	Male, 45.8% Female, 54.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.6% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between primary care physician and doctor duties and responsibilities

Primary care physician example responsibilities.

Full spectrum of family medicine, including obstetrics, pediatrics and inpatient medicine.
Maintain renewal for physicians' licenses, DEA certificates, ACLS certifications and CME records.
Attend ICU patient care rounds with the medical team.
Display technical proficiency in using NaturaeSoft electronic medical record (EMR).
Provide on-site, immediate response for all hospital emergencies following ACLS protocols.
Enter prescriptions on computer, giving injections, filing charting information in patient chart.

Doctor example responsibilities.

Manage conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, asthma, and GERD.
Develop personalize treatment plans, rehabilitation plans, exercise plans, report of findings, nutritional plans and narrative reports.
Perform patient x-rays, provide MRI consultations.
Perform x-rays of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.
Hire, train, educate and monitor staff in HIPPA policies and procedures.
Create, update, and maintain confidential patient EHRs in compliance with all HIPAA laws and regulations.

Primary care physician vs doctor skills

Common primary care physician skills

Patients, 25%
Internal Medicine, 14%
Family Practice, 11%
Urgent Care, 8%
Pediatrics, 7%
Patient Care, 6%

Common doctor skills

Patients, 33%
Customer Service, 12%
Emergency Medicine, 5%
Surgery, 5%
DR, 4%
Cleanliness, 3%

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Primary Care Physician
Primary Care Physician vs Doctor

Updated January 8, 2025

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