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Slideshow
5 objectives for achieving high-quality primary care at the state level
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Key Takeaways
- Regular PCP visits correlate with better health outcomes and reduced hospital visits, potentially saving the U.S. $67 billion annually.
- Only 5% of U.S. healthcare spending is allocated to primary care, the lowest among western democracies.
Key objectives for the improvement of primary care at the state level were discussed in an expert-led AHCJ webinar, titled "No one can see you now."
Research shows that patients who regularly see a primary care provider (PCP) have overall better health, less frequent hospital visits and lower rates of chronic disease. One report found that the U.S. could save an estimated $67 billion per year if every American saw a PCP as their main source of care. Despite this, only 5% of U.S. health care spending is allocated toward primary care, which is less than any other western democracy.
Physicians in primary care fields—family medicine, pediatrics and general internal medicine—are among the lowest paid doctors in the country, and the pipeline of new primary care physicians is vastly inadequate to replace physicians who are leaving the field for retirement, or because of burnout, according to an expert-led webinar on the subject.
