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.

Benefits of Primary Care Intervention

Choosing a Primary Care Provider

Multidisciplinary Primary Care Teams

Effective Communication in Primary Care Teams

Benefits of Primary Health Care

Strategies to Improve Shortage of Primary Health Care

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Study provides insights into well-visit attendance from mid-adolescence to young adulthood

It's common that as kids get to high school and transition to adulthood, they begin to skip yearly wellness visits with a pediatrician or other primary care provider.

9 Jan 2026

Solving the home care quandary

You're ready to leave the hospital, but you don't feel able to care for yourself at home yet.

8 Jan 2026

Cardiovascular risk scores predict future development of serious eye diseases

A new study from UCLA Health shows that a cardiovascular risk score already used routinely in primary care can predict who will develop serious eye diseases years later.

7 Jan 2026

Strengthening primary health care to reduce NCD burden in the Americas

The Pan American Journal of Public Health, the scientific publication of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), recently published a special issue dedicated to strengthening primary health care to address noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the Americas.

7 Jan 2026

Homeless shelters for seniors pop up, catering to older adults’ medical needs

Just outside Salt Lake City sits an old, two-story, brick hotel. It's been given new life as a homeless shelter for seniors. The Medically Vulnerable People shelter — or MVP shelter, as it's known — is for people 62 and older or for younger adults with chronic health issues.

7 Jan 2026

Inside the battle for the future of addiction medicine

Elyse Stevens had a reputation for taking on complex medical cases. People who'd been battling addiction for decades. Chronic-pain patients on high doses of opioids. Sex workers and people living on the street.

7 Jan 2026

One in three women miss postpartum check-ups

Findings from a Norwegian study reveal that comprehensive postpartum care by GPs improves women's satisfaction and addresses key health concerns effectively.

7 Jan 2026

Many Americans misunderstand shared decision making in childhood vaccination policies

On Jan. 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dramatically reduced the number of recommended childhood vaccinations from 17 to 11, citing practices in other wealthy nations, including Denmark, Germany, and Japan.

6 Jan 2026

On the hook for uninsured residents, counties now wonder how they’ll pay

In 2013, before the Affordable Care Act helped millions get health insurance, California's Placer County provided limited health care to some 3,400 uninsured residents who couldn't afford to see a doctor.

6 Jan 2026

Neighborhood deprivation predicts poorer lower-limb strength

Neighborhood-level disadvantages are linked to reduced lower limb strength and mobility in older adults, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions.

6 Jan 2026

New guidelines aim to standardize diagnosis of canine dementia

An international working group of canine cognition experts has released a set of guidelines for veterinarians to use in diagnosing and monitoring canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CCDS), or canine dementia.

5 Jan 2026

Income sufficiency emerges as key factor in early brain development

Decades of research show that early psychosocial stress, including chronic exposure to adversity, can shape how a child's brain develops, with effects that last well beyond childhood. But families rarely experience just one source of stress at a time.

5 Jan 2026

To knock down health-system hurdles between you and HIV prevention, try these 6 things

A couple of years ago, Matthew Hurley got the kind of text people fear.

5 Jan 2026

One in four women in Norway found to miss postpartum check-ups

In a new study, Christine Agdestein has surveyed several aspects of the postnatal check-up. Agdestein is a specialist in general practice and a general practitioner, and is currently a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

2 Jan 2026

An Arm and a Leg: A few more good things from 2025

An Arm and a Leg host Dan Weissmann breaks down how two states passed laws aimed at protecting people from things like medical debt, insurance delays and denials, and corporate profiteering.

23 Dec 2025

Access barriers keep Black and low-income patients out of genetics clinics

Black patients and patients from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods are dramatically under-represented in genetics clinics-often at rates half or less than those of White patients or individuals from wealthier areas-according to researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts General Hospital.

19 Dec 2025

Oral health gains global recognition in WHO NCD declaration

The European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) welcomes the adoption of the WHO political declaration on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health at the Eightieth United Nations General Assembly, recognizing it as a major step forward for integrated, people-centred health systems.

19 Dec 2025

Early peanut introduction can prevent allergy but parents need clearer guidance

Feeding babies peanut-containing foods as early as possible can help prevent peanut allergy, but a new study published in JAMA Network Open found that parents need more support to get it right.

18 Dec 2025

Hybrid care improves access to primary care in rural Ontario

Hybrid health options are an underdeveloped, key tool for improving access to primary care in Ontario's remote communities, with a new University of Ottawa study highlighting the positive impact of in-person mixed with virtual care options have in rural regions.

18 Dec 2025