What is Primary Care

Primary healthcare is the care provided by doctors, nurse practitioners, and/or physician assistants trained in family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics, and their staff. Studies have shown an association between having a regular doctor and better health outcomes, greater satisfaction with care, lower costs of care, and less disparities in the services available/provided to different groups of people. (Starfield B, Shi L, Macinko J. Contribution of primary care to health systems and health. Milbank Quarterly. 2005;83(3):457-502.)

A 2008 World Health Organization Report describes some essential elements of effective primary care:

Primary care provides a place to which people can bring a wide range of health problems
Primary care is a hub from which patients are guided through the health system
Primary care facilitates ongoing relationships between patients and clinicians, within which patients participate in decision-making about their health and health care; it builds bridges between personal health care and patients’ families and communities
Primary care opens opportunities for disease prevention and health promotion as well as early detection of disease
Primary care requires teams of health professionals: physicians, nurse practitioners, and assistants with specific and sophisticated biomedical and social skills
Primary care requires adequate resources and investment, and can then provide much better value for money than its alternative World Health Organization 2008 Report Primary Health Care: Now More Than Ever, pg 19

Factors influencing Health Status

The primary objective of a healthcare system should be to improve people's health. However, access to healthcare and the quality of those services only account for about 20% of an individual's health status. The biggest contributors are health behaviors (i.e. diet, exercise, tobacco use, substance abuse), social and economic factors (education, employment, income, family and social support, and community safety) and environmental factors such as air pollution and the availability of fresh foods and safe water.

Michigan County Health Ranking

Michigan counties vary on key indicators of health. Click here to see Michigan health outcomes and health factors by county. This highlights the importance of primary care, public health, and community leaders working together to evaluate the health status of their communities as well as taking the steps to improve the healthcare status of Michigan's residents.

Learn More

To learn more about Primary Care, why it is in danger of collapse, and focus areas for revitalizing the primary healthcare system, click on topics below.

Page updated April 4, 2010