Primary care network patients make fewer visits to emergency and spend less days in hospital, according to a new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The study was based on Alberta patients where primary care networks were established in 2005 to increase access to both primary care and provide a co-ordinated model of care that focuses on chronic disease management, health maintenance and prevention.
Red Deer Primary Care Network (PCN) has 83 family doctors who work with other health professionals to provide comprehensive care at their clinics and through group and individual programs.
Dr. Peter Bouch, past chair of the Red Deer network, said the study was based on data from 2008 and 2009 , but the results are still relevant today.
He said PCNs encourage patients to see their family doctor for the majority of their care and that continuity in care can make a huge difference in life expectancy.
“Your mortality rate falls by 50 per cent and there’s been no medical procedure, medication, or anything else that we’ve done in the last 50 years that has been that impactful,” Bouch said.
He said the local PCN uses a system to flag patients for regular tests like cancer screenings, for example.
“Just in the last three years that we’ve been doing this we’ve managed to pick up a lot of early cases of cancer that could be treated, and have been treated, that probably would have been missed until later on.”
Continuity of care requires patients to make their family doctor their regular doctor, and for doctors to be available, he said.
“It’s a responsibility both ways. It’s a two-way street.”
Bouch said he personally believes there are enough doctors to provide continuity of care in Red Deer. But those who provide more episodic care through same day appointments must take on the responsibility to provide screenings for patients who regularly use their clinics.
“The onus is not just on the patient to see the physician, it’s also on the physician.”
He said in the last few years there has been a lot more emphasis on primary care by Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services to reduce health care costs. While medical specialists are obviously required in health care, everyone agrees a robust primary care system, which provides the majority of care, is needed.
“It’s going to bend the cost curve down and we can be able to afford health care in the future.”
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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