The Impact of Primary Care: A Focused Review

Abstract

Primary care serves as the cornerstone in a strong healthcare system. However, it has long been overlooked in the United States (USA), and an imbalance between specialty and primary care exists. The objective of this focused review paper is to identify research evidence on the value of primary care both in the USA and internationally, focusing on the importance of effective primary care services in delivering quality healthcare, improving health outcomes, and reducing disparities. Literature searches were performed in PubMed as well as “snowballing” based on the bibliographies of the retrieved articles. The areas reviewed included primary care definitions, primary care measurement, primary care practice, primary care and health, primary care and quality, primary care and cost, primary care and equity, primary care and health centers, and primary care and healthcare reform. In both developed and developing countries, primary care has been demonstrated to be associated with enhanced access to healthcare services, better health outcomes, and a decrease in hospitalization and use of emergency department visits. Primary care can also help counteract the negative impact of poor economic conditions on health.

Health Equity Indicators for the English NHS: a longitudinal whole-population study at the small-area level

“…76 This indicator focuses on clinical process indicators of the quality of primary care, based on the proportion of patients diagnosed with a particular condition receiving appropriate medical care for that condition. The quality of primary care can be measured using structures (such as the supply of GPs), processes (such as vaccination, investigation and prescribing) or outcomes (such as mortality, morbidity and patient satisfaction).…”

Vocal-Medical: On-Line Language Learning and Cultural Preparation for Emergency Services

“…As a consequence language problems are very common in these health care services. General practitioners (on duty) are however also confronted frequently with foreign patients as they are in many health care systems the first contact point in case of (semi)urgent medical problems (Shi, 2012).…”

Modelo cuantitativo para mejorar el financiamiento de la atención primaria en Chile

“…Además, atenúa el impacto de la condición socioeconómica en la salud (3). En el caso de Chile, de hecho, el financiamiento de este pilar ha mostrado un crecimiento mayor al de la atención en los niveles secundario y terciario (4).…”

“…El espíritu de la metodología del ajuste, entonces, es de suma cero, es decir su aplicación no altera el gasto esperado a nivel nacional 3 , como se destaca en la literatura que compara distintos sistemas a través del mundo (6,7,10,11). La idea es tomar un gasto esperado per cápita a nivel global y luego ajustarlo a las condiciones relativas de cada localidad, pues determinadas localidades resultan tener, en algunas dimensiones, una posición ventajosa o desventajosa en los gastos esperados en la APS.…”