Consider the statement: “Primary care physicians are responsible for diagnosis and treatment of common health problems.” How should this statement be evaluated in terms of its correctness in the context of modern health care systems?

Introduction / Context:
This question checks basic general knowledge about the role of primary care physicians in a health care system. Many aptitude and reasoning tests include simple factual statements and ask you to judge whether the statement is correct. Here the focus is on understanding what primary care physicians actually do in everyday practice and whether diagnosis and treatment are central parts of their job.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The statement to evaluate is that primary care physicians are responsible for diagnosis and treatment of common health problems.
• We are talking about typical modern health care systems where patients initially approach a general practitioner, family doctor or similar primary care professional.
• Primary care is contrasted with specialist care such as cardiology or neurosurgery.
• We assume routine conditions such as fever, cough, hypertension, diabetes and minor injuries, not highly specialised surgical procedures.

Concept / Approach:
Primary care is usually the first point of contact for patients. Doctors in these roles are trained to take histories, perform examinations, order basic tests, make diagnoses and provide suitable treatment or management plans. When a condition is beyond their scope, they refer patients to specialists. Therefore, a correct understanding of primary care should include both diagnosis and treatment at a general level. To answer the question, we simply need to compare this real world role with the given statement and see if they match.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify key functions of a primary care physician: listening to patient complaints, taking medical history, performing physical examination, requesting basic investigations and making initial diagnoses. Recognise that after diagnosing common conditions, primary care physicians prescribe medicines, give lifestyle advice and monitor response. This clearly shows a responsibility for treatment. Acknowledge that for complex or rare disorders, primary care physicians may refer patients to specialists, but this does not remove their responsibility for basic diagnosis and initial management. Compare this with the statement in the question, which directly says that primary care physicians are responsible for diagnosis and treatment. This matches our understanding of their role. Therefore, the statement is correct, and any option claiming they only do paperwork, only refer, or work only in laboratories must be considered incorrect.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify by recalling common experiences. When people have fever, sore throat or minor injuries, they usually visit a local doctor or clinic. That doctor interacts with the patient, arrives at a probable diagnosis such as viral fever or throat infection and prescribes medicines. This shows that primary level doctors both diagnose and treat. Even government and insurance definitions of primary care emphasise comprehensive, continuous first contact care, which again includes diagnosis and treatment of general conditions.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B claims primary care physicians only refer and do not diagnose or treat, which is clearly false because referrals generally follow an initial assessment and provisional diagnosis. Option C says they only handle administrative tasks, which ignores their clinical training. Option D restricts them to emergencies only, which is wrong because routine and preventive care are major parts of their work. Option E suggests they work only in laboratories without seeing patients, which actually describes some specialists like pathologists but not the typical primary care physician.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to confuse primary care with paramedical or purely administrative roles. Some candidates also assume that only specialists diagnose and treat, while primary care doctors merely act as gatekeepers. In reality, primary care physicians manage a very large share of everyday illnesses and are trained to diagnose and treat within their scope. Reading the statement carefully and relating it to real world practice helps avoid such confusion.

Final Answer:
The statement is correct; primary care physicians are indeed responsible for diagnosis and treatment of common health problems, so option A is the right choice.