What Is a Primary Care Partnership?

A primary care partnership facilitates coordinated treatment from primary and secondary care providers. It can also refer to an agreement between a patient and a primary care provider who work together to address and prevent health issues. Integrated care of this nature can result in better patient outcomes as well as a reduction in morbidity and mortality levels for a community as a whole, when the plan includes a clinic or hospital that services a specific population. Government agencies, professional organizations, and researchers may work together to facilitate partnerships.

Patients visit a primary care provider for basic medical needs, and this medical professional acts as a gateway to the rest of the medical system. In a primary care partnership, a secondary health provider like a specialist coordinates to provide information and ensure seamless care. This can include educating health professionals so they can effectively monitor patients for signs of complications and other issues, along with coordinating care to avoid duplications of testing and treatment.

Community education campaigns can include workshops for primary care providers to help them identify and treat specific conditions of concern, as well as patient outreach programs. The goals of partnerships connecting specialists and other medical professionals include improvement of early identification, intervention, and treatment. For example, a nurse practitioner familiar with pulmonary issues can identify a patient’s asthma more quickly, or a doctor who works with a cardiologist can manage a child with a heart condition more effectively.

It is also possible for medical practitioners like nurses and doctors to partner with their patients in an individual relationship. In this kind of primary care partnership, the practitioner provides information, education, and tools for the patient, who agrees to commit to a treatment plan and work with the provider to address specific issues. If a patient has diabetes, for example, the primary care partnership may include creating a diet and exercise plan to manage the condition, regularly getting checkups, and other measures to keep the condition under control.

Research indicates that a primary care partnership can improve patient care. Working with specialists provides practitioners with access to information they can use for community interventions as well as individual patient care. This can increase the chances of catching medical conditions early, and preventing those conditions in the first place with good outreach and education. Patients who feel connected and empowered in their relationships with care providers may also experience better outcomes in the long term.