Unequal access to primary care continues to be a concern in the United States. Health problems left unattended can spiral into chronic disease without access to high-quality primary care. Thus, leading to increased visits to the emergency room, exacerbating terrible health outcomes and increasing health care spending.

Addressing the Gap

To address this gap, a committee under the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report. ‘Implementing High-Quality Primary Care: Rebuilding the Foundation of Health Care’ puts forth a plan to expand access to high-quality primary care in the United States.

The committee sets forth 5 implementation objectives:

1. Pay for primary care teams to care for people, not doctors to deliver services.
2. Ensure that high-quality primary care is available to every individual and family in every community.
3. Train primary care teams where people live and work.
4. Design information technology that serves the patient, family, and the interprofessional care team.
5. Ensure the implementation of high-quality primary care in the United States.

At CFH, we understand that New Yorkers experiencing homelessness regularly face significant barriers to primary care. Furthermore, they are often tasked with navigating a complex health care system that lacks high-quality services and/or trauma informed settings. The COVID-19 pandemic has only served to exacerbate these inequalities.

For many clients, the first step out of homelessness begins with addressing chronic health issues on an ongoing basis. So, now is the time to scale access to high-quality primary care and better address the needs of the communities that we serve.