Submitted by Solvera Health
It’s not news that our healthcare system in the U.S. has become quite complicated, bureaucratic, and expensive. With insurance premiums constantly rising and many people feeling that they are paying too much for their care, while getting very little in return, society has strayed away from the use of primary care doctors.
Office visits can cost over $200, not including necessary testing or medications, and doctors often have less than ten minutes to spend with a patient. Even at that cost, much of the time is focused on reviewing information on a computer screen without really connecting with patients and listening. Meanwhile, many of the traditional primary doctors have retired or are aligned with larger healthcare institutions.
Unlike generations of the past, researchers at Harvard Medical School suggest most individuals and families today don’t even have a primary doctor. For those who do have a primary doctor, appointments can be hard to come by or they are dissatisfied with the quality of care they receive. These factors have led people to seek attention at urgent care facilities or rely on specialists to address their basic primary care needs.
However, with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicare has begun to reiterate how important primary care and preventative health is to the overall population. They now promote and compensate providers for efforts in Chronic Care Management, Remote Patient Monitoring, and Advanced Care Planning, all with the primary care doctor being at the center and keeping patients out of the ER/hospital as a goal.
All of this, combined with other healthcare directives, such as the focus on preventative health and more transparent pricing, has led to a reemergence of the need and role of primary care doctors through Direct Primary Care (DPC) models.
The guiding principle is that primary care should be the foundation of our health care system and is essential to better health outcomes, lower costs, and healthier families and communities. New DPC models look to:
- Serve as the first point of care for the patient—often from childhood to old age
- Provide patient-centered care that is consistent with the patient’s values and preferences
- Support the primary care doctor with comprehensive services such as on-site physical therapy, audiology, pharmacy, diagnostic labs, and imaging
- Address all aspects that contribute to a person’s health and well-being
- Coordinate and be involved with care across settings and providers
- Provide follow-up and care management services to patients between visits
- Integrate modern technology like telehealth and remote monitoring
- Deliver high-quality care that is cost-effective and affordable
With this approach, healthcare is between the patient and doctor again. Patients can build an emotional connection and feel that they can trust the doctor to keep their broader healthcare needs in mind. The comprehensive support team and service behind them allow continuity of care that has been missing in healthcare. This relationship is more important than ever, especially in empowering patients to be an active part of their own healthcare team.
Ultimately, primary care is an essential component of a healthy community ecosystem. It keeps families healthy by making sure that children are ready to learn and that adults can pursue education and career opportunities to the best of their abilities. Primary care can also strengthen the local economy and support community growth and development by creating essential jobs.
Solvera Health is ideally positioned to support the reemergence of primary care. The dedicated team of healthcare professionals at Solvera includes Primary Care Providers as well as a comprehensive services and support staff. Services such as Physical Therapy, Pharmacy, and Laboratory testing are all conveniently available within the same building. Solvera Health is committed to delivering the highest quality of service to our patients. Solvera Health is located on the corner of University and War Memorial in Peoria, Illinois. Visit www.SolveraHealth.com.
sources available upon request