Primary and community health care often only referrs to walkin or non-referral healthcare providers, secondary care often referrs to a specialist service that may or may not require a referral and tertiary care often referrs to a hospital setting.

Aged care is was previously associated with tertiary care however, in recent descussions there is more of a shift to reclassify aged care as part of primary or community care or as it's own area.

Recently there has been discussion around levels of access to care and care settings with a shift towards classification as primary and community care (non hospital), acute and emergency care (hospital) and where specialty care should be situated.

Specialty care fall under primary, secondary and tertiary care depending on acute, chronic or complex presentations and the treatments required as this can vary throughtout the patinet health and illness continuum.

Secondary care or specialty area nurses often miss out on education, training, mentoring and other opportunities available to nurses in other areas of nursing however there are many similarities between general practice and other specialists clinics.

General practice falls under primary health care although general practitioners are classified as specialists however you do not require a referral to see one and in some other specialty clinics a referral is preferred but not essential.