Primary medical care is the field of medicine that provides first-coritact, comprehensive, curative, and preventive health care services. These services are delivered by primary health care teams that include physicians, community health nurses, village health workers, and other health pro­ fessionals. Primary care or generalist physicians in the United States include family physicians, general internists, and general pediatricians. Family physicians are the only generalist physicians trained to care for patients of all ages. Because of their ability to provide comprehensive, continu­ ous care to patients of both sexes and all ages, and to cost-ef­ fectively integrate preventive and curative care, family physicians are well suited to address comprehensive primary health care needs of people in developed and developing na­ tions.