A family medical center is typically operated under a different set of principles than a hospital or doctor’s office. A family medical center is geared toward meeting the medical needs of an underserved population that likely does not have adequate insurance and has limited means of paying for the service. A family medical center will operate with the mission of providing quality health care to their community without regard to age, ethnic background or ability to pay.

With many people in the United States unable to afford healthcare, without a family medical center type of facility they would often go without medical care. This is also true of areas with high numbers of recent immigrants. These newly arrived individuals are often unfamiliar with the medical community and do not know how to seek the help they need.