A patient whose care is the responsibility of an identifiable, individual health professional (usually o. physician) who is paid directly (by the patient or a third-party) for his service to the patient. The physician is called a personal physician and the patient is his private patient. Private patients are contrasted with public, service or ward patients whose care is the responsibility of a health program or institution. Public patients are often cared for by an individual practitioner paid by the program (such as a member of the house staff) but the program, rather than the individual, is paid for the care. The distinction is important to third-party payers (including Medicare) because situations arise in which payment is made to both a program and an individual practitioner for the same services. The term occasionally refers to a patient occupying a room in an institution by himself (a private room).
A patient who is paying for treatment and who is not being treated under the National Health Service.
A patient whose care is the responsibility of one identifiable health care professional, usually a physician or dentist. The health care professional is paid directly, either by the patient or by the patient’s insurer.