Why Primary Care?
Primary care is the foundation of our health care system and essential to better health outcomes, lower costs and healthier families and communities.
It is:
- First point of care
- Comprehensive, addressing all that contributes to a person’s health and well-being
- Care that follows a person from childhood through old age
- Coordination of care across settings and providers
Primary care is a cornerstone of healthy, thriving communities
Primary care is an essential component of a healthy community ecosystem, along with schools, jobs, housing, parks, and libraries. It keeps families healthy, making sure that children are ready to learn and that adults are able to pursue education and career opportunities to the best of their abilities. Primary care also creates good jobs, bolstering the local economy and supporting community growth and development.
Primary care is the foundation of healthy system integration
Integrating the full spectrum of health care services – including primary care, behavioral health, women’s health care, specialty care, and community resources – improves outcomes and community health. To be successful, integrated systems must be built on a strong foundation of patient-centered primary care.
Quality primary care is transformational
Primary care – high quality, accessible, affordable, culturally competent, and timely – is essential to individual and community health. Current payment and delivery system reform initiatives rely on it to be the wellspring of a reimagined delivery system that provides, and is compensated for, care that promotes health and prevents disease for every person and community.
