Health Care Levels

Medical professionals talk about different levels of care which patients are not familiar with.

For the purpose of our patients here are the different levels of classification namely primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care.

Primary care: The level of care when a patients consults a family physician, general physician, nurse or nurse aids typically occurring  in small clinics. For example a patient complaining of abdominal pain for first time

Secondary care: When a patient was seen by a primary physician and was referred to a specialist for example a surgeon. When a patient is diagnosed to be a surgical abdomen or equivocal abdomen the patient will then be referred to a general surgeon for further evaluation. 

Tertiary Care: When a patient needs further specialty care the patient will then referred to a tertiary hospital. Tertiary hospitals require highly specialized equipment and expertise such as plastic surgery, neurosurgery, thoracovascular surgery, and urology. 

Quaternary Hospital: It is considered to be an extension of tertiary hospital even more specialized. Quaternary care involves experimental medicine and procedures and highly unconventional surgeries.