Patients very rarely know what to do when facing a health issue. Primary care is the initial point of contact between a patient with the healthcare system by offering information and resources regarding the outcome.
Providing easy access to medical care is the primary purpose of primary care, and it focuses on the individual rather than the illness. According to the World Health Organization, the following are the roles that primary care practitioners provide. These include:
- Wider coverage of health care
- Providing social disparities in health care
- Organizing health services
- Helping make health care a public policy
- Training leaders in health care
Increasing the level of participation by all parties involved in health, regardless if it’s a patient, a physician, or a public health care worker
A primary care practitioner is responsible for diagnosing, managing, and preventing common health conditions in patients. It’s also their job to refer the patient to the specialist that can deal with their condition.
Source: Krone
Benefits of Primary Care
Primary care faces the difficult issue of providing a more affordable health care option, while also providing excellent service. This is done to reduce the financial burden of the public health system, but the difficulty lies since few hospitals are in need or secondary and tertiary healthcare services.
Some of the primary benefits of primary care include:
- Increased access to standard healthcare services
- Providing quality health care
- Preventive health
- Early interventions with diseases
- Improve the relationship between medical personnel and patients
- Reduce the need for specialist care
- Various types of economic benefits to the patients
The biggest challenge with primary care faces with execution since there are a very limited number of primary care physicians. According to manhattanprimarycaredoctorsnyc.com, jobs in the primary care sector are in high demand, but the quality of care varies between each practitioner.
Source: GMP Medical
Types of Primary Care Providers
Each practitioner is responsible for establishing referrals to the patient regarding their condition. It is a primary care practitioners’ job to be the point of entry for the patient. As a result, there are various types of primary care providers. These include:
- Primary care physicians
- Nurse practitioners
- Family practice doctors
- Internal medicine doctor
- Gynecologists
- Obstetricians
- Geriatricians
- Pediatricians
Each of these practitioners has a certain patient group that most suits their needs. Each of these primary care providers is specialized in health conditions related to their field of expertise. Out of all the providers, primary care physicians and general practitioners are the most common ones. These providers have a general knowledge regarding patient illnesses, diseases, and conditions, unlike the rest who are more specialized in certain medical conditions.
It’s also safe to note that non-primary care physicians function best as part of a team where a primary care physician is also part of. Non-primary care physicians are highly specialized in certain medical conditions, and they don’t offer the same degree of comprehensive and ongoing care. While they do offer some services, such as lifestyle changes for cardiac and diabetics patients, they mostly offer services with their medical specialty.
