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

New mothers need dietary guidance when providing breast milk to children with food allergy

Many new mothers with infants want very much to breastfeed as it is the gold standard for early nutrition.

4 Mar 2021

Rapid point-of-care test used to diagnose respiratory infections can reduce antibiotic prescribing

A rapid microbiological point-of-care test to diagnose respiratory infections has proved popular with GPs and could reduce antibiotic prescribing in primary care, according to a National Institute for Health Research funded study by researchers at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol.

4 Mar 2021

New poll spotlights a major gap in testing for hearing loss in older adults

Eighty percent of Americans over 50 say their primary care doctor hasn't asked about their hearing in the past two years, and nearly as many - 77% -- haven't had their hearing checked by a professional in that same time, according to a new national poll report.

2 Mar 2021

Proportion of children in Medicaid managed care plans increases from 65% to 94%

Nationally, the number of children under age 21 enrolled in Medicaid grew from 23.5 million in 2000 to 40.5 million in 2017, with the proportion of children in Medicaid managed care plans increasing from 65 percent to 94 percent, according to a study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago published in the journal Academic Pediatrics.

1 Mar 2021

Study: Major changes in bereavement care occurred during COVID-19 pandemic

Major changes in bereavement care have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid a flood of demand for help from bereaved people, according to new research from the University of Cambridge.

1 Mar 2021

Study finds novel way to diagnose Alzheimer's disease before symptoms occur

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease has been shown to reduce cost and improve patient outcomes, but current diagnostic approaches can be invasive and costly.

26 Feb 2021

Recommendations to help ensure access to high-quality opioid use disorder treatment

On January 14, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) submitted notice to the Federal Register that it would issue practice guidelines that exempt physicians from the requirement to apply for a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) in up to 30 patients at one time.

25 Feb 2021

New biomarker could help identify people at risk of Alzheimer's disease

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease has been shown to reduce cost and improve patient outcomes, but current diagnostic approaches can be invasive and costly.

25 Feb 2021

New approach can reduce unnecessary evaluations of swollen lymph nodes after COVID-19 vaccination

Swelling of lymph nodes in the armpit area is a normal response to COVID-19 vaccinations, but when they are seen on mammograms, they can be mistaken for nodes that are swollen because of cancer. In some cases, the nodes are biopsied to confirm they are not cancer.

25 Feb 2021

Study shows reliability and robustness of injectable anti-obesity medication

A second study of the injectable anti-obesity medication, semaglutide, has confirmed the large weight losses reported in a study earlier this month, establishing the reliability and robustness of this new drug.

24 Feb 2021

Researchers explore suicide risk management protocol in cardiac patients

UIC College of Nursing associate professor Susan Dunn explores this question as lead author of "Suicide Risk Management Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial of Cardiac Patients Reporting Hopelessness," a paper published in the January/February edition of Nursing Research.

24 Feb 2021

COST Action ERNST focuses on taking care of second victims

Patient Safety is a Priority in Europe and has improved over the years. Nevertheless, every year between 8 and 12% of the people admitted to hospitals and around 6% of those in primary care suffer from an adverse event (AE) while receiving healthcare.

22 Feb 2021

Drugs for benign prostatic hyperplasia associated with increased risk of cardiac failure

Widely used medications for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) - also known as enlarged prostate - may be associated with a small, but significant increase in the probability of developing heart failure, suggests a study in The Journal of Urology, Official Journal of the American Urological Association.

22 Feb 2021

To vaccinate veterans, health care workers must cross mountains, plains and tundra

A Learjet 31 took off before daybreak from Helena Regional Airport in Montana, carrying six Veterans Affairs medical providers and 250 doses of historic cargo cradled in a plug-in cooler designed to minimize breakage.

19 Feb 2021

Companies pan for marketing gold in vaccines

For a decade, Jennifer Crow has taken care of her elderly parents, who have multiple sclerosis. After her father had a stroke in December, the family got serious in its conversations with a retirement community — and learned that one service it offered was covid-19 vaccination.

19 Feb 2021

Study forecasts post-COVID-19 hospital activity among children and young people in England

An intriguing new study by researchers in the UK explores attendance and admissions in various hospital areas, including inpatient – outpatient and emergency department (ED) – by children and up to 24 years olds (children and young people, CYP).

18 Feb 2021

Radiological images reveal how COVID virus can trigger the body to attack itself

Muscle soreness and achy joints are common symptoms among COVID-19 patients. But for some people, symptoms are more severe, long-lasting, and even bizarre, including rheumatoid arthritis flares, autoimmune myositis, or "COVID toes."

18 Feb 2021

Sensor-based asthma inhalers can benefit pediatric asthma patients

Sensor-based inhalers integrated into health care providers' clinical workflows may help improve medication adherence and support children with asthma - and their families - to more effectively manage this condition, according to a new Northwestern and Lurie Children's study published in Pediatrics.

17 Feb 2021

Improving eye health globally can have substantial benefits for economic, social prosperity

An estimated 1.1 billion people were living with untreated vision impairment in 2020, but researchers say more than 90 per cent of vision loss could be prevented or treated with existing, highly cost-effective interventions.

17 Feb 2021

People with asthma in deprived areas have worse outcomes, study reveals

People with asthma in the most deprived areas are 50% more likely to be admitted to hospital and to die from asthma compared with those in the least deprived areas, a new five-year study of over 100,000 people in Wales has revealed.

17 Feb 2021