The Importance of Primary Health Care
Whether it's a simple visit to a GP or the treatment of a chronic disease, primary health care is a key component of a healthy lifestyle. It's a key factor in ensuring that all people are treated when they need it, without incurring expensive expenses. It also ensures that health systems are ready to respond to sudden and unexpected surges in demand.
Strong primary health care is an essential part of a country's total health strategy. It should address the needs of underserved populations, use scientific methods and practical solutions, and be affordable. It should also include education on the most prevalent diseases, family planning, and disease prevention. A Primary Care Provider is able to detect outbreaks and provide adequate healthcare before they turn into major epidemics.
Using a community-based approach, Meridian Primary Care Services focus on disease prevention and promotion. This includes promoting proper nutrition, preventing non-communicable diseases, and immunizing against major infectious diseases. The services should also address maternal and child health, food safety, and the promotion of mental health.
The Alma-Ata Declaration, which was signed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF in 1978, identified primary health care as a vital tool in achieving health for all. The declaration recognized that, to achieve universal health coverage, primary health care must be coordinated with other levels of the health system. The declaration was aimed at ensuring that communities were engaged in the decision-making process. However, its implementation has stalled for a number of reasons.
Today, current PHC systems are not designed to promote health. In fact, many of these systems are focused on treating the sick. The WHO definition acknowledges that a strong health system must be able to address the complex health needs of individuals and communities. In addition, the system must be able to meet the needs of patients through a continuum of care, and must have the capacity to measure progress and continuously improve.
To build a stronger, more resilient health system, all countries should coordinate their efforts in a spirit of partnership. All of them should invest in primary health care, and all governments should formulate national policies. The scale of the challenge is enormous - to scale up primary health care interventions could save up to 60 million lives. It would also require an investment of US$ 200 to 370 billion annually.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is taking steps to strengthen primary health care. It's working with other federal departments, patient advocates, and diverse stakeholders. It's also developing a public-focused Action Plan that will be available for public comment starting June 27, 2022.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2017, it's been clear that a resilient health system can better detect outbreaks and maintain essential health programs during crisis. It's also clear that a strong primary health care system can help communities detect local outbreaks before they become global epidemics. The Covid-19 crisis highlighted the importance of primary care at the core of health systems. It's good to click on this site to learn more about the topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care.