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Primary Healthcare: A Long-term, Proactive Approach

Primary healthcare-a concept of integrated, accessible medical services ranging from preventive measures such as vaccinations, health literacy promotion, and early screening for diseases to curative and rehabilitative treatment-operates within the context of family and community.

To be effective, healthcare must be comprehensive, continuous, coordinated, and offer a wide range of community-based public health services. Clinicians must understand not only the ailment, but a patient's living conditions, family dynamics, and cultural background as well. They must also be aware of community-wide health concerns such as alcoholism, environmental conditions, and occupational hazards.

Building long-term relationships based on mutual trust and respect between medical professionals and the patients they serve is the underlying concept behind AIHA's Primary Healthcare (PHC) partnerships. The goal of these partnerships is to ensure that high quality, cost-effective, and sustainable medical services are available to the general public. Aided by training, and in some cases re-training, primary care professionals act as gatekeepers to the healthcare system. They are able to assess, diagnose, and treat a majority of patient ailments, while accurately referring those who require more specialized care to an appropriate expert.

Emphasizing health promotion and disease prevention rather than treating illnesses after they have already become serious problems is a key element of the primary care model. AIHA's PHC partnerships build on traditional hospital-based alliances by incorporating a wide range of community, educational, governmental, and non-governmental organizations to form a strong network of concerned stakeholders. This community-based web integrates healthcare into the overall framework of social services and increases opportunities to reach the broadest segment of the population. Within this network, primary care practitioners fulfill the critical function of ensuring patients receive the proper combination of health services and educational information to meet their individual needs