Healthcare in India has fast moved away from general practice to super specialised medicine. As a consequence the erstwhile family physician who had detailed knowledge of his patient’s lifestyle, family history and clinical history has somewhere gotten lost. Family Medicine is a branch of medical sciences which aims to provide comprehensive and continuing healthcare for individuals of all ages and genders. A popular branch of practised medicine across the globe, it provides for the first line of treatment and preventive care. In India, very recent times have seen a resurgence of this concept with a few private players stepping into this arena. The next few sections highlight the potential for this stream of healthcare in India and the challenges associated with it.

Models of Family Clinics 

1. Single Practitioner
A decades old model followed within the Indian market, it typically involves a single physician catering to a small local population. Services provided may range from only consultation to limited pharmacy, basic diagnostics and small procedures like suturing. Word of mouth is the most commonly employed tool for marketing. Mainstreaming and expansion of this model is extremely difficult since it is largely person dependent.

2. Practice Association
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