Dear Colleagues:
University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s successes in improving population health, accomplishing our mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together and achieving our vision of being the Region’s Leader in Patient Centered Healthcare are directly related to the provision of high quality, cost effective, high value primary care. (Please recall that high value care is the quotient of quality over cost: Value = Quality/Cost.)
It is difficult to overstate the importance of primary care in the full spectrum of population health. The information below is excerpted (and slightly edited/rearranged) from http://healthisprimary.org/, the website of Family Medicine for America’s Health, which includes eight leading family medicine organizations nationwide: the American Academy of Family Physicians; the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation; the American Board of Family Medicine; the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians; the Association of Departments of Family Medicine; the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors; the North American Primary Care Research Group; and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.
Evidence shows that access to primary care can help us live longer, healthier lives.
- Studies suggest that as many as 127,617 deaths per year in the United States could be averted through an increase in the number of primary care physicians.
- In areas of the country where there are more primary care providers per person, death rates for cancer, heart disease and stroke are lower– and people are less likely to be hospitalized.
- Urban and rural communities that have an adequate supply of primary care doctors experience lower infant mortality, higher birth weights and immunization rates at or above national standards despite social disparities.
- An increase of one primary care doctor per 10,000 people can decrease costly and unnecessary care. Evidence shows that primary care (in contrast to specialty care) is associated with a more equitable distribution of heathin populations.
- A primary care-based system may cost less because patients experience fewer hospitalizations, less duplication and more appropriate technology.
- S. adults who have a primary care physician have 33 percent lower health care costs.
- Medicare spending is less for states with more primary care physiciansand yet these states have more effective, higher-quality care.
Primary Care Providers (PCPs) … are a reliable first contact for health concerns and directly address most health care needs. Through enduring partnerships …PCPs help patients prevent, understand, and manage illness; navigate the health system and set health goals. …Their staff adapt their care to the unique needs of their patients and communities… and they use data to monitor and manage their patient population, and use the best science available to prioritize services most likely to benefit health.
For too long, our health care system has been out of balance. Spending on treatment has far exceeded spending on prevention and wellness. As our health care system evolves, it has become clear that a strong primary care system is essential to improving health in America.
Family Medicine for America’s Health’s new campaign, Health is Primary, is designed to drive continued improvement of the U.S. health care system and demonstrate the value of true primary care. While representing primarily the family medicine specialty, the premises of the campaign are applicable to all primary care caregivers. Primary care seeks to ensure that we can meet the nation’s health care needs and, ultimately, improve the health of every American.
This means:
- Furthering the evolution of the patient-centeredness
- Advancing the use of technology
- Ensuring a strong primary care workforce
- Shifting the payment system to improve the quality of care and the health of our patients
Health is Primary will travel to cities across the country to highlight the individuals, organizations, and communities that are making health primary, to build on their success and ensure that everyone has access to the benefits of primary care. The campaign will provide specific tools and resources to increase collaboration between patients and doctors (and Advanced Practice Practitioners) on important health issues, including smoking prevention and cessation, nutrition and fitness, immunizations and chronic disease management….”
I look forward to your comments and thoughts and am hoping this finds each of you well and in the best of spirits as the spring season is now finally upon us.
Sincerely,
William E. Huffner, MD, MBA, FACEP, FACHE
Chief Medical Officer, Senior Vice President – Medical Affairs
219 S. Washington Street
Easton, Maryland 21601
Phone: 410-822-1000, ext. 5867
Fax: 410-822-2147
Email: whuffner@shorehealth.org