The physician who assumes responsibility for the comprehensive medical care of an individual on a continuing basis. The physician obtains professional assistance when needed for services he is not qualified to provide, and coordinates the care provided by other professional personnel in light of his knowledge and understanding of the patient as a whole. While personal physicians will have an interest in the patient’s family as they affect his patient, the personal physician may not serve the entire family directly, e.g., a pediatrician may serve as a personal physician for children, while an internist or other specialist may serve in this capacity for adults. Personal physician is sometimes more simply defined for any given patient as the one the patient designates as his personal or principal physician.