1. Finger on the Pulse: The State of Primary Care in the U.S. and Nine Other Countries
- Author:
- Evan D. Gumas, Corinne Lewis, Celli Horstman, and Munira Z. Gunja
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Commonwealth Fund
- Abstract:
- For many people, primary care is their first point of contact with the health system, and decades of evidence shows it is critical for population health, health equity, and the overall efficiency of health care systems.1 Primary care is also uniquely positioned to screen for social needs and provide integrated behavioral health services.2 Ensuring people have access to high-quality, comprehensive primary care is vital to good health outcomes and positive experiences with the health system at large. Despite the importance of primary care, health systems around the world are facing challenges at the patient and provider level. Many countries struggle to ensure access to care, or first contact; continuity of care; comprehensiveness of care; and coordination of care. These four core components of high-quality primary care are essential to better overall health outcomes.3 Factors like workforce shortages, physician burnout, and dwindling access for patients, driven in part by underinvestment and growing administrative burdens, pose significant barriers to care.4 To better understand how patient care can be improved in a changing primary care landscape, this brief compares the state of primary care in the United States with nine other high-income nations. It updates an earlier Commonwealth Fund study comparing primary care performance in the U.S. with nine peer countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Our data come from the Commonwealth Fund’s 2022 International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians and the 2023 International Health Policy Survey of adults age 18 and older. The 2022 and 2023 surveys asked different questions of the participating physicians and responding adults, so this edition includes new measures on access to telehealth, preparedness to treat behavioral health conditions, and care coordination. For more details on our methods, see “How We Conducted This Study.”
- Topic:
- Equity, Primary Care, and Healthcare System
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, North America, Sweden, Netherlands, New Zealand, and United States of America