The community medicine-primary care connection

Community medicine is defined as an academic discipline, the practice of which addresses the identification and solution of health problems in population groups and emphasizes such disciplines as epidemiology and biostatistics and behavioral and management sciences in relation to their bearing on problems of health care delivery and environmental health. The essential components of a community-based system of medical care are highlighted. The place of primary care in that system is discussed and the contributions that community medicine can make toward enhancing primary care within the community-based system of medical care are outlined.