Primary care provider vs physician

The differences between primary care providers and physicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a physician has an average salary of $238,887, which is higher than the $35,422 average annual salary of a primary care provider.

The top three skills for a primary care provider include patients, internal medicine and family practice. The most important skills for a physician are patients, surgery, and patient care.

Primary care provider vs physician overview

	Primary Care Provider	Physician
Yearly salary	$35,422	$238,887
Hourly rate	$17.03	$114.85
Growth rate	36%	7%
Number of jobs	103,863	46,489
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	4

What does a primary care provider do?

Primary Care Providers, also known as general practitioners instead of specialists, are doctors trained to be the first point of contact for a patient entering the health care system. They diagnose, treat, and prevent a broad range of injuries and illnesses from allergies and colds to longer-term conditions such as Diabetes Mellitus. Their duties include performing lab tests to identify a condition, prescribing medications, checking for drug interactions, provide wound care, executing spirometry tests and electrocardiograms, and coordinating specialist care for your condition. A Primary Care Provider will also help create self-care plans prescribing a certain diet and recommending exercise routines.

What does a physician do?

Physicians' general responsibility is to check, diagnose, and treat a patient's condition to improve their overall wellness. A physician could be General Practitioners or Specialist Physicians, wherein General Practitioners are physicians who provide regular checkups for patients depending on their needs and refer them to a Specialist Physicians who are more skilled in a particular field of expertise for a thorough diagnosis. Physicians monitor a patient's medical history and ensure follow-up checkups to observe if the condition of a patient is changing over time. A physician may refer a patient to other health professionals for further examination as needed.

Primary care provider vs physician salary

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

	Primary Care Provider	Physician
Average salary	$35,422	$238,887
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $58,000	Between $128,000 And $442,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	Cleveland, TN
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Wisconsin
Best paying company	AstraZeneca	Yuma Regional Medical Center
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between primary care provider and physician education

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

	Primary Care Provider	Physician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Nursing	Medicine
Most common college	-	Duke University

Primary care provider vs physician demographics

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

	Primary Care Provider	Physician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 26.8% Female, 73.2%	Male, 39.0% Female, 61.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 9.7% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	13%

Differences between primary care provider and physician duties and responsibilities

Primary care provider example responsibilities.

Manage provider network to include verifying claims and benefits for healthcare providers/members and insurance companies.
Work alongside ABA therapists to continue to apply appropriate behavioral techniques.
Examine patients and carefully analyze test results and information gather during examinations to properly diagnose illnesses and diseases.
Used strong oral and written communications skills to develop and maintain effective relationships with patients, co-workers and international medical professionals.
Provide caring companionship to developmentally disabled/elderly residents.
Assist with toileting, including bedpans, urinals and commode chairs.

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Physician example responsibilities.

Manage catheters and dress wounds.
Maintain ACLS and BLS certifications.
Treat complicated oncology cases in ICU and emergency.
Schedule new, follow-up and diagnostic testing for cardiology patients.
Attend radiation oncology clinic for new patients beginning treatment as well as follow-ups for returning patients.
Schedule tests and procedures (including radiology, cardiology, and respiratory) utilizing the hospital and clinic computer systems.

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Primary care provider vs physician skills

Common primary care provider skills

Patients, 31%
Internal Medicine, 13%
Family Practice, 12%
Patient Care, 11%
Urgent Care, 10%
NP, 4%

Common physician skills

Patients, 22%
Surgery, 8%
Patient Care, 7%
Internal Medicine, 6%
Primary Care, 6%
EMR, 6%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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