A California report found increased access to primary care can provide several important health benefits.
By Pete Mercer
For all the recent advances in healthcare, health equity is a growing problem in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines health equity as “the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.” There are several ways to do this, but the most powerful way to push health equity across the country is to increase access to primary care.
According to a recently published survey conducted by the California Health Care Foundation, primary care is intrinsically linked to improved health equity.
Why primary care still matters
Primary care is designed to address the mental and physical health needs of the patient, through one-on-one interactions with a team of health professionals. In fact, these primary care visits are often the first touchpoint for any patient concerns – appointments with primary care physicians can lead to further coordination across the spectrum of care.
The report found that increased access to primary care can provide several important health benefits: early detection and treatment of conditions, better management of chronic disease, and more complete immunization (especially in recent years). While these benefits are important to anyone looking after their own health, they are especially important for the elderly and economically or socially marginalized groups experiencing high burdens of preventable illness.
The report says, “Better access to primary care … is associated with improved life expectancy and lower rates of premature mortality in both international comparisons and across regions within the United States. Conversely, communities with fewer primary care physicians per capita experience greater access challenges, fragmented care, and more costly and duplicative health care services. When facing a shortage of primary care providers, patients also experience a higher risk of medical errors and reduced trust in health care providers.”
Investing in primary care
This study is designed to provide insight to other states like California who are looking to embrace the charge to revitalize and invest in primary care, with the authors calling for a “paradigm shift in our thinking and actions” to ensure that health equity is prioritized. That paradigm shift would require things like recognizing primary care as a common good, embracing the diversity of primary care practice settings, and building accountability for action within the primary care system.
The report included examples of how states can strengthen primary care and advance equity in five areas: community engagement; workforce education and training; clinical practice transformation; payment and spending; and data measurement, collection and reporting.
If any of this is going to be effective, primary care practices need to be adequately resourced and supported by other entities within the community. Primary care is a worthy investment that will pay dividends into our communities, our families, our businesses, and our future.