Primary Care

Primary care is the initial point of contact between a patient and the healthcare system that provides individuals with access to the information and resources they need for optimal health outcomes.

What is Primary Care?

Primary care is the initial point of contact between a patient and the healthcare system that provides individuals with access to the information and resources they need for optimal health outcomes.

Choosing a Primary Care Provider

Benefits of Primary Health Care

Strategies to Improve Shortage of Primary Health Care

Benefits of Primary Care Intervention

Multidisciplinary Primary Care Teams

Effective Communication in Primary Care Teams

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Dental therapists help patients in need of care avoid the brush-off

All six of Michelle Ehlert’s children have Medicaid plans that should cover their dental care. But for years, she and her husband paid for dental care out-of-pocket — sometimes thousands of dollars a year.

9 Jun 2023

Study may help advance data on oncolytic adenovirus mediated double suicide-gene therapy for high-grade brain tumors

Researchers in the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center at Henry Ford Health are leading a Phase I clinical trial studying the maximum tolerated dose of an oncolytic adenovirus, a mutated virus engineered to selectively replicate in and destroy cancer tissue, in combination with fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery among patients who are undergoing resection of a recurrent high-grade astrocytoma brain tumor.

8 Jun 2023

Most adults with diabetes do not receive prompt outpatient care after heart failure hospitalization

More than half of Medicaid-covered adults in Alabama with Type 2 diabetes did not receive follow-up health care within the recommended two-week period following hospitalization for newly-diagnosed heart failure, according to new research.

7 Jun 2023

Study explores link between social participation and successful aging in later life

A new study followed more than 7000 middle aged and older Canadians for approximately three years to understand whether higher rates of social participation were associated with successful aging in later life.

7 Jun 2023

Burnout threatens primary care workforce and doctors’ mental health

Melanie Gray Miller, a 30-year-old physician, wiped away tears as she described the isolation she felt after losing a beloved patient.

7 Jun 2023

Is discontinuing universal SARS-CoV-2 testing at hospital admission in England and Scotland associated with increased hospital-onset infections?

Researchers performed a time series analysis using public data sets from both nations to examine whether this discontinuation resulted in a surge in hospital-onset COVID-19 cases.

7 Jun 2023

Life-changing procedure using new aortic valve device clears way for patient in need of liver transplant and hip replacement

Janice Couch, 62, a retired pre-school teacher from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is finally physically ready to receive two procedures that stand to change her life, thanks to Henry Ford Health interventional cardiologists who paved the way by implanting a new aortic valve device for the first time in the health system's history.

6 Jun 2023

As fewer MDs practice rural primary care, a different type of doctor helps take up the slack

For 35 years, this town's residents have brought all manner of illnesses, aches, and worries to Kevin de Regnier's storefront clinic on the courthouse square — and he loves them for it.

6 Jun 2023

Large-scale comprehensive sequencing helps downstream medical care in newborns

Researchers who lead the world's first comprehensive sequencing program for newborn infants have published the next chapter in the ongoing study of the BabySeq Project, with new findings on infants and families who have been followed for 3-5 years.

6 Jun 2023

American Indian and Alaska Native men less likely to be screened for prostate cancer, study shows

New research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine shows that American Indian and Alaska Native men are less likely to be screened for prostate cancer compared to other racial/ethnic groups.

5 Jun 2023

SWOG Cancer Research Network clinical trial reveals potential new therapy for Stage 3 or 4 classic Hodgkin lymphoma

A Phase 3 trial has demonstrated that patients with advanced stage (3 or 4) classic Hodgkin lymphoma who underwent initial treatment with nivolumab, a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, and AVD chemotherapy (N-AVD) had a significantly lower risk of their cancer getting worse than patients treated with brentuximab vedotin, a monoclonal antibody, and AVD (BV-AVD) a year after starting treatment.

4 Jun 2023

Reentry services for incarcerated people with substance use disorder may lower post-release risks

Contrary to expectations, the risk for relapses, overdoses and deaths related to substance use disorder didn't increase after a large-scale prison release in New Jersey, according to a Rutgers study.

2 Jun 2023

Understanding factors associated with long-term opioid use in fibromyalgia patients

Fibromyalgia is common, affecting around 2% of people in the general population. The 2017 EULAR recommendations state that tramadol - a weak opioid - may be considered for pain management in fibromyalgia, but advise against use of strong opioids due to lack of evidence of efficacy, and the high risk of side effects and addiction.

2 Jun 2023

Do veterans with COVID-19 experience similar outcomes when hospitalized in Veterans Health Administration hospitals vs. community hospitals?

Researchers compared COVID-19-related deaths and re-admission rates in VHA vs. community hospitals.

2 Jun 2023

Is having a new child associated with increased antidepressant treatment in men?

Study determines whether recent fatherhood was associated with increased antidepressant treatment.

2 Jun 2023

"Deep sequencing" of the genome informs diagnoses and treatment of vascular anomalies

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) recently discovered that extremely thorough "deep sequencing" of the genome in tissue samples and cell-free DNA of patients with potentially life-threatening vascular anomalies captured several genetic variants related to disease that were not captured with conventional genetic sequencing methods.

1 Jun 2023

The association between COVID-19 vaccination types and doses with adverse outcomes of SARS-CoV-2

Researchers investigated the associations between coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination or non-vaccination and adverse outcomes.

1 Jun 2023

Researchers create an open-source, reproducible analysis platform for pediatric brain tumors

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation Childhood Cancer Data Lab, the Children's Brain Tumor Network, the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium, and more than 20 additional institutions have partnered to create a first-of-its-kind open-source, reproducible analysis platform for pediatric brain tumors.

31 May 2023

Burden of autoimmune disease continues to increase over time, research suggests

EULAR – the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology – works on a broad spectrum of autoimmune and auto-inflammatory diseases.

31 May 2023

Health care coalition jockeys over Medi-Cal spending, eyes ballot initiative

Influential health care interests are jockeying over a potential infusion of $19.4 billion into Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, while also angling for a 2024 ballot initiative to permanently lock in that funding, KFF Health News has learned.

31 May 2023

Primary Care

Overview

Primary Healthcare Providers

Physician Shortage

Challenges in Primary Care