Primary Care honors America’s Veterans by providing Top quality and accessible primary care to all Veterans Primary care physicians are the first line of defense for patients when injury or illness strikes, for day-to-day care .

Minor injuries or illness, your primary care doctor provides care by promoting patient health, providing counseling and more.

Primary Care

What is Primary Care?
Primary care is the initial point of contact between a patient and the healthcare system that provides individuals with access to the information and resources they need for optimal health outcomes.
Primary healthcare professionals typically work with many different patients and have broad knowledge about various physical, psychological and social ailments that may affect their patients.

VA FOREIGN MEDICAL SERVICES Aim of Primary Care
The main purpose of primary care is to improve the health of the public by providing easy access to medical care. It also focuses on the whole individual rather than on the illness of a specific organ, system or disease. It aims to improve their entire health and wellbeing by preventing or solving any health problems that may be present or potentially present.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are several key roles that primary care practitioners fulfil in their pursuit of this goal. These include:
• Providing a wider coverage of health care
• Preventing social disparities in health care
• Organizing health services to meet health needs
• Helping to make health and health care a part of public policy in every sphere
• Helping to train leaders in effective health care
• Increasing the level of participation by all those who have a stake in health, whether patients, physicians, public health workers, or

those in the allied health servicesBenefits and Challenges of Primary Care
When implemented correctly, primary care is very beneficial for the health of patients and also reduces the financial burden on the public health system. This is partly because of fewer hospitalizations and less need for secondary and tertiary healthcare services.
Other benefits of primary health care include:

• Increased access to healthcare services
• Improved quality of health care
• Focus on preventive health
• Early intervention to prevent health conditions from developing
• Improved patient relationships
• Reduced need for specialist care
• Economic benefit in the form of several linked jobs

However, there are also several barriers that inhibit the benefits of primary care. A shortage of primary care physicians is a significant challenge, and the demand for new practitioners is currently growing at a faster rate than the supply. Additionally, the quality of care is variable between different practitioners, regions and countries.
After-hours care is typically available in less than half of primary care centers

What is Primary Care?
Primary care is the initial point of contact between a patient and the healthcare system that provides individuals with access to the information and resources they need for optimal health outcomes.
Primary healthcare professionals typically work with many different patients and have broad knowledge about various physical, psychological and social ailments that may affect their patients.

VA FOREIGN MEDICAL SERVICES Aim of Primary Care
The main purpose of primary care is to improve the health of the public by providing easy access to medical care. It also focuses on the whole individual rather than on the illness of a specific organ, system or disease. It aims to improve their entire health and wellbeing by preventing or solving any health problems that may be present or potentially present.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are several key roles that primary care practitioners fulfil in their pursuit of this goal. These include:

• Providing a wider coverage of health care
• Preventing social disparities in health care
• Organizing health services to meet health needs
• Helping to make health and health care a part of public policy in every sphere
• Helping to train leaders in effective health care
• Increasing the level of participation by all those who have a stake in health, whether patients, physicians, public health workers, or those in the allied health services Benefits and Challenges of Primary Care

When implemented correctly, primary care is very beneficial for the health of patients and also reduces the financial burden on the public health system. This is partly because of fewer hospitalizations and less need for secondary and tertiary healthcare services.Other benefits of primary health care include:

• Increased access to healthcare services
• Improved quality of health care
• Focus on preventive health
• Early intervention to prevent health conditions from developing
• Improved patient relationships
• Reduced need for specialist care
• Economic benefit in the form of several linked jobs

However, there are also several barriers that inhibit the benefits of primary care. A shortage of primary care physicians is a significant challenge, and the demand for new practitioners is currently growing at a faster rate than the supply. Additionally, the quality of care is variable between different practitioners, regions and countries.
After-hours care is typically available in less than half of primary care centers