Primary Health Care

Primary Care
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Primary Care
Introduction
Human health is a critical issue in any country, and the governing body finds it important to integrate it among its major functions. For instance, most of the developed countries such as the United States of America have come up with major changes to make sure that health remain among the top most considerations of the government. Some of these changes have been seen through Obama rule by the passing of the Obama health care bill by the congress. Different states in America have also come up with changes in health care department to form an ideal health system.
Primary Health Care
Primary health care refers to the essential health care that is based on approved scientific and socially acceptable technology and methods. Primary health care is the immediate health care that individuals and families should access in any society. It makes sure that health care is approached beyond traditional health care systems to achieve equity in providing services. Primary health care looks at the ability of any society to access health services, healthy environments and healthy lifestyles. This means that health care is politically, socially and economically acceptable. The World Health Organization adopted the 1978 declaration of the International Conference on primary health care as a goal for universal healthcare.
Primary health care makes sure that some objectives are achieved which include reduction of exclusion and social disparities in health, organizing health services within people’s needs and expectation as well as making sure that the participation of stakeholders is increased. In addition, primary health care also makes sure that health is integrated in all sectors and collaborative models of leadership are pursued (Millan et all, 2008). To achieve universal primary health care there should be equitable distribution of health care services, full participation of the community, a competent and dedicated workforce and use of appropriate technology. Therefore, primary health care ensures that there is continued improvement of people’s lives, and alleviating socioeconomic conditions that lead to poor health.
Primary Medical Care
Primary medical care is health care provided daily by health care providers who encounter patients regularly. Primary care is obtained from professionals such as primary care physicians, nurse practitioners or physician assistants. It may vary in terms of the services provided and the locality. For instance, a registered nurse, a clinical officer, a traditional medicine professional or a pharmacist may be involved in providing primary medical care. However, there are some of the health conditions that may result in a patient being referred for secondary or tertiary medical care.
The World Health Organization acknowledges primary medical care as an important component of primary health care in that it makes sure that all age’s patients, different socioeconomic patients and geographic origins, as well as any type of health problem are taken care of. Primary medical care ensures that there is available consultancy service, preventive care, health education and routine check-ups. Consequently, primary care would entail basic maternal and child health care services, common chronic diseases and patient education (Starfield, & Macinko, 2005).
Primary health care and primary medical care have major similarities;
* Both primary medical care and primary health care aim at achieving a society that is healthy and safe with members who are free from diseases
* Both primary health care and primary medical care are important social products in any society and are the rights of every member
* Equity and availability are the most identical features of both primary medical care and primary health care
* Both primary medical care and primary health care aims at making health care affordable to every client
Differences between primary medical care and primary health care
Primary health care and primary medical care are different in some of their perspectives. Primary care is driven by profit, focuses on treatment and restoration, has limited preventive care and provides an avenue to the secondary and tertiary care. On the other hand, primary health care is publicly driven, has minimum level of care, is universally available without regarding payment and focuses on health care for majority. In terms of community participation, primary medical care is directed to them and the community acts as power brokers. It is also has professionals as team leaders, experts and authority providers. Unlike primary medical care, primary health care perceives the community as its client where community members act as partners whereas professionals act as facilitators and consultants.
There is inter-sectorial collaboration between healthcare professionals and healthcare team members in primary medical care. In addition, there is inter-sectorial competition of resources unlike primary health care, which goes beyond health care sector to include education among others. There is also collaboration on resource appropriation. Primary medical care is only available in medically directed health care services. Health care is also limited on the eligibility of third party reimbursement. In contrast, primary health care is universally available and eligible to the health care services and resources. It focuses on the empowerment of an individual who can obtain resources for healthcare unlike primary health care that has a collective and redistributed power with collective decision-making.
Why Primary Care is a Critical Component of Improved Integration
Primary care can be integrated to increase interaction in health sector as well as remove barriers in interaction of different stakeholders and players. There are different types of integration, which include functional integration, organizational integration, professional integration, service, or clinical integration, normative integration and systemic integration. In functional integration, the workforce and support functions across all units are coordinated. In organization integration, the relationship between health care organizations is improved. Under professional integration, health care providers improve the relationship between organizations and individuals. Coordination of services and integration of care as a single process across time, place and disciplines is achieved through clinical integration (Van Lerberghe, 2008). Normative integration achieves shared mission, professional culture and work value while systematic integration aligns policies and incentives in the organization.
Different levels of integrations are important in having a well-run integration process. These include funding, administration, organizational, service delivery and clinical. To have a better performing integration process, interlocking domains in different levels should be achieved for better patient outcome. In the past, integration between primary care and public has gained much success in the countries that practiced. There are different principles that govern integration of primary care and public health care. The principle of shared goal in the society health improvement and community engagement address population needs while that of aligned leadership is important in bridging the discipline, the programs and the jurisdiction, which may lead to fragmentation reducing continuity. Aligned leadership clarifies and guarantees accountability, can manage change, as well as supports the needed incentives. Conversely, the principle of sustainability in integration helps to establish a shared infrastructure that would endure value and impact. There is also the use of data and analysis to increase sharing and collaboration.
Integration is highly motivated by different factors within a society where primary care is being practiced. For instance, it may be driven by the specific health issues identified in the society such as chronic disease, prevention of an outbreak or a unique health need for a given population. It may also be motivated by the overwhelming participation of different stakeholders such as community organizations, academic institutions hospital and even businesses. In case of some key opportunities such as sharing and use of data, integration in primary care may be important to develop a workforce that is able to function in the present integrated society.
Referrals and access to medical attention
Integration of primary care is critical in referrals to ensure that less time is taken for the procedure. For instance, nurses must refer a patient to a physician in order to get a referral to specialist. There is need for the physician to sign referrals where there arises fragmentation and duplication making health care expensive and inefficient. Ordering of drugs and laboratory tests is a tedious process for a nurse practitioner. In most cases, nurses are the ones who handle sick cases and this makes them more informed of the needs of primary health care. However most practitioners have restricted drugs and laboratory test they can order and the orders are listed under their names ins...