family doctor / GP
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family doctor
A general practitioner who is the first point of contact for patients with most health problems. They provide primary care and refer patients to specialists if needed.
Bei einer starken Erkältung solltest du zu deinem Hausarzt gehen.
If you have a bad cold, you should go to your family doctor.
'Hausarzt' is made up of 'Haus' (house) and 'Arzt' (doctor). The name comes from the fact that this doctor used to visit families at home and is the first point of contact for the health of the whole 'Haus' (household/family).
Mein Hausarzt kennt meine ganze Familie seit vielen Jahren.
My family doctor has known my whole family for many years.
Use 'zu' for movement ('zum Hausarzt gehen' — to go to the family doctor) and 'bei' for being there ('beim Hausarzt sein' — to be at the family doctor's, or 'einen Termin beim Hausarzt haben' — to have an appointment with the family doctor).
Ich muss heute Nachmittag zum Hausarzt.
I have to go to the family doctor this afternoon.
A typical function of a 'Hausarzt' (family doctor) is to refer patients to a specialist. You then get 'eine Überweisung vom Hausarzt' (a referral from the family doctor).
Für das Knieproblem habe ich vom Hausarzt eine Überweisung zum Orthopäden bekommen.
For the knee problem, I got a referral from my family doctor to an orthopedist.
practitioner / GP
Hausarzt refers to a doctor who is usually the first point of contact for their patients and provides primary care. Praktiker, by contrast, is a colloquial term for a general practitioner or family doctor. When referring to personal medical care, Hausarzt is the better choice.
Bei diesen Beschwerden gehe ich zuerst zu meinem Hausarzt, der meine Krankengeschichte kennt.
With these symptoms, I first go to my family doctor, who knows my medical history.
Bei diesen Beschwerden gehe ich zuerst zum Praktiker hier im Ort, wie man umgangssprachlich sagt.
With these symptoms, I first go to the practitioner here in town, as people colloquially say.
