The health care problem no one’s talking about
While the nation focuses on expanding health coverage, growing numbers of insured Americans lack access to primary care. We’ve identified 8 barriers—and the means to overcome them.
These reforms, if they were to truly come to pass, would ease much of the pressure on PCPs. No matter what policy changes are implemented to increase access to primary care, however, it is clear that a substantial culture change is required on the part of PCPs, as well. Physicians can begin to make changes on their own to increase patient access—expanding the interval between follow-up visits for stable patients, for instance, and reorganizing work schedules so that the practice can remain open for more hours.
It’s clear that providing health insurance to the uninsured without guaranteeing access to primary care can turn a potentially positive development into widespread patient frustration. Unless Americans have greater access to primary care, we fear, the US health care system will undergo significant change without substantial improvement.
CORRESPONDENCE
Thomas Bodenheimer MD, MPH, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, Bldg 80-83, SF General Hospital, 995 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94110; TBodenheimer@fcm.ucsf.edu
