Introduction
Primary care can be described as the foundation and pillar of health care. It is the ideal entry point of the health care system, and arguably an area of great influence on an individual’s lifetime experience with health care services. Studies show that patients who utilize primary care have a decreased risk of illness and death (Starfield, Shi & Macinko, 2005).
Promoting the role and facilitation of primary care through health policy is a worthwhile endeavor, not just in direct improvement of human health, but also in terms of the financial, social, and environmental aspects related to health care.
What is Primary Care?
According to the John Hopkins School of Public Health, health policy center, primary care is defined as: “the level of a health services system that provides entry into the system for all new needs and problems, provides person-focused (not disease-oriented) care over time, provides care for all but very uncommon or unusual conditions, and coordinates or integrates care, regardless of where the care is delivered and who provides it. It is the means by which the two main goals of a health services system, optimization and equity of health status, are approached” ("What is primary," 2014).
Primary care positively influences the health care system by focusing on preventative medicine first and then, if needed, curative medicine, either by treatment of basic health issues, or the referral to an appropriate specialist. Primary care seeks to promote healthy habits including good nutrition, exercise, proper vaccination against a number of diseases, and avoidance of detrimental activities such as tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, and unsafe sexual practices. Primary care also aims to identify ris...
... middle of paper ...
...les and co-payments for approved preventive services and tests that will help Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries detect disease early, while at a more treatable stage. In addition, reform will make preventive services more accessible for seniors by covering an annual wellness visit that provides a personalized prevention plan for each beneficiary, with no co-payment, coinsurance, or deductible” (Davis, Abrams & Stremekis, 2011).
A Beneficial Investment
Primary care is arguably the most important area of health services due to its far reaching and powerful impact on the rest of the health care model. What happens (or does not happen) at the primary care level has a great deal of influence on the rest of the system. By prioritizing and emphasizing all aspects of primary care through health policy both in the private and public arenas, all parties stand to benefit.
Starfield, B, Cassady, C, Nanda, J, Forrest, C, & Berk, R. (1998). Consumer experiences and provider perceptions of the quality of primary care: implications for managed care. The Journal of Family Practice, 46(3), 216-226.
Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...
About 32 million people will represent the newly insured, affecting the health care system and nurses are the fundamental in health system. Health care reform is positive for nurses. The health care bill provides money for advance practice and general nurse education. The law also creates a grant program for innovative safety net programs, such as nurse-managed health clinics. Due to the shortage of family Physicians, nurse practitioner programs are going strong. The health care reform is a good opportunity for nurses; the law will permit different approaches to deliver primary care and with the decreasing number of physicians going in to primary care, Nurses represent the best way to provide primary care to the millions of new insured people. (Satowski, 2010)
In consequence, this will limit poor adults finding the proper treatment since many doctors do not accept Medicaid patients. High rates of uninsured populations were associated with lower primary care capacity (Ku et al., 2011). Thus, expanding insurance coverage can support more primary care practices in rural areas and can help equal the gap in primary care positions. The impact of not expanding affects APRN practice by limiting them to practice in areas where they are needed the most. This not only affects APRNs from practicing without a physician supervision but also limit those that need coverage for basic preventive measures to reduce non-paying visits to the emergency room. Ensuring access to care will be contingent upon the ability to attain progress from insurance coverage and primary
→ Most health services are in general, not user-centered, and are designed and delivered according to traditional systems of care (Primary, Secondary etc.)
Over the past 5 decades, nurse practitioners have been utilized to deliver primary care, traditionally in underserved areas or to vulnerable populations. With the primary care physician workforce in decline it has been estimated, in 2020 we will see a shortage of nearly 45,000 primary care physicians. Currently, a nurse practitioners scope of practice varies widely state by state, many believe that drafting new laws to expand their scope of practice would help create a readily available supply of primary care providers to help combat the expected shortage.
In today's health care environment many factors contribute to quality care. As a medical practice manager it is important to provide the best medical service for patients in addition to excellent levels of service. Appointment scheduling is a very important aspect of a smooth running medical practice. Appointment cancellation, no shows, and long waiting time by patients have a negative impact on the efficient running of the practice not only in lost revenue but the practices professional reputation as well (Kruse 2010).
Redsell, S., Stokes, T., Jackson, C., Hastings, A., Baker, R. (2007). Patients’ accounts of the differences in nurses’ and general practitioners’ roles in primary care. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 57(2), 172-180.
Approximately 1 in 5 Americans do not have medical insurance and are more likely to lack a usual source of medical care, and more likely to skip routine medical care because of the very high costs, increasing their risk for serious health conditions. For the program, increasing the access to routine medical care and medical insurance are very important steps to achieve their goal of improving America’s health. The access to health services leading health indicators are those with medical insurance and a usual primary care provider. The access to health services in a regular basis can prevent disease and disability, detect and treat health conditions, increase quality of life, decrease the probability of premature death, and increase life
...These services can be a key to improve health of many citizens and keep rising health costs under control. Preventive screenings and counseling on topics such as losing weight, treating depression and alcohol consumption can make it possible to detect many diseases in the early stages, when it is treatable, and reduce health care costs in a long run (America’s Health Insurance Plans, 2007).
A primary care physician is one who has specialized education and training in general internal medicine, family practice, or another first-level-of-care area. Primary care physicians are those who provide patients with any/all of the following:
Improving health care services depends in part on ensuring that people have a usual and ongoing source of care. Not having a usual place to go to when sick or in need of health advice delays necessary care which leads to an increased risk. People with a usual source of care are more likely to go in for routine checkups and screenings, and are more likely to know where to go for treatmen...
Health care policy targets the organization, financing, and delivery of health care services. The reason for targeting these areas is for the licensing of health care professionals and facilities, to make sure there is protection of patients’ private health information, and there are measures of quality care, mistakes, malpractice, and efforts to control of health care cost (Acuff, 2010). There are several stages that one must take when creating a policy (see figure 1). The figure below shows the critical steps in the policy process. First, the problem must be identified, once the problem is identified potential policy solutions must be formulated, then the policy is adopted, and then implemented. After the policy is in place, an evaluation of the policy has to take place (This Nation, 2013).
Primary health care is the indispensable care based on the real – world, systematically sound, socially adequate technique and technology which made unanimously available to the families and every individuals in the community through their fully involvement where the community is capable to afford at a cost to uphold at every phase of their growth in the essence of self-reliance and self-government. Primary health care in international health is associated with the global conference held at Alma Ata in 1978; the conference that promoted the initiative health for all by the year 2000. “Primary health care defined broadly at Alma Ata emphasized universal health care across to all individuals and families , encouraged participation by community members in all aspects of health care planning and implementation and promoted the delivery of care that would be scientifically sound , technically effective , socially relevant and acceptable” (Janice E.Hitchcock,2003). Primary health care is commonly viewed as a level of care or as the entry point to the health care system for its client. It can also taken to mean a particular approach to care which is concerned with containing care, accessibility, community involvement and collaboration between other sectors. The primary health care policy has some principals that have been designed to work together and be implemented simultaneously to bring about a better health outcome for the entire society.
The population is living sicker longer. Overall patients in the United States are grossly under treated by primary care providers, likely because there simply are not enough of them. 60% of physicians in the US are specialty care providers. Shi summarized, with increased access to primary care overall health of the population is positively influenced. Mortality and disease rates decrease; as do hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions. Life expectancy and satisfaction with the healthcare system also increase (Shi, 2012). I sometimes wonder if my cancer patients had better access to primary care would the outcome be different? Could the cancer had been caught in time for more curative measures, instead of