Accuracy of Reporting Primary Care Specialty Status in Medical Research.

Introduction: Family physicians (FPs) are specialty trained and certified and provide most primary care (PC) services in the United States. General practitioners (GPs), a separate group without specialty PC training, are commonly confused with FPs despite differences in demographic characteristics, professional qualifications, and clinical services. Our study documents how often research in major medical journals distinguishes between these 2 groups or combines GPs and FPs together.