As patients enter the healthcare system, primary care is typically their first stop. Because of this, primary care clinicians have a unique opportunity to develop relationships with patients and communities. This also enables them to get a glimpse of the hardships that a particular patient or group of patients is dealing with and see how that can affect their overall well-being. As the healthcare system, and primary care in particular, shifts away from a transactional system, to one more focused on high quality, comprehensive care, these outside factors that often play a significant role in patients’ lives must be accounted for.
The CDC defines health disparities as preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations. It defines the social determinants of health as conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play. While several of these factors or locations fall out of the traditional sphere of primary care, a well-organized and coordinated primary care team should have the resources to help patients beyond their medical needs.
Title | Source | Date |
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SC Healthy Outcome initiative focuses on frequent ER users | The State | October 7, 2013 |
New online resource assists safety-net primary care practice improvement | MedCity News | July 28, 2015 |
Fewer Americans Have a Primary Care Doctor Now | U.S. News & World Report | December 17, 2019 |
Patients With Primary Care Docs May Get Better Health Care | U.S. News & World Report | February 4, 2019 |
Study: Primary Care Doctors Increase Life Expectancy, But Does Anyone Care? | Forbes | April 8, 2019 |
Analysis: Can States Fix The Disaster Of American Health Care? | Kaiser Health News | January 22, 2019 |
A Doctor Speaks Out About Ageism In Medicine | Kaiser Health News | May 30, 2019 |
They Enrolled in Medical School To Practice Rural Medicine. What Happened? | Kaiser Health News | October 9, 2019 |
'The Health Care System Falls Apart When You're A Complex Patient' | Kaiser Health News | October 1, 2014 |
Under Trump, Number Of Uninsured Kids Rose For First Time This Decade | Kaiser Health News | November 29, 2018 |