Health insurance carriers generally expect their subscribers to have a primary care physician. A primary care doctor is important for everyone, not just because insurance mandates it. Studies show they lower the cost of care and improve health outcomes and the community’s overall health.
When you have a non-emergency medical issue, your first healthcare provider is a primary care physician. They develop the baseline for your wellbeing, getting to know you. This long-term relationship helps find and treat diseases early, manage chronic diseases, and prevent illnesses.
A PCP can be a family practitioner, generalist, internist, pediatrician, obstetrician and gynecologist, or a nurse practitioner or physician assistant working with primary care physicians.
WELL-CHILD CARE
Regular well-child appointments with PCPs are crucial for children to prevent illness and promptly detect new or unusual issues. Pediatricians keep track of immunizations, growth, dietary concerns, and preventive screening. They also can evaluate mental and behavioral health problems that can impact home life and education.
When your child is well, it’s an excellent time to connect with a PCP. They can get to know your child and help you reach their health care goals. They will also be there when you need them. Your relationship with your child’s primary care doctor could be one of the most important you will ever have.
Barriers to Primary Care
Still, about one-third of Americans do not have a PCP. About 250,000 children in the U.S. lack one. If primary care is so good for us, why don’t we all have a PCP? Two barriers contribute to an unhealthy situation for us all. One is the lack of doctors, and the other is the lack of health insurance. Children without health insurance are less likely to get vaccinations. This can put the entire community at risk, making preventable diseases more likely.
Southwest Florida is designated as a “Medically Underserved Area” by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. This means there are not enough primary care providers for the growing population.
Healthcare Network’s Impact
Healthcare Network, founded in Immokalee in 1977, helps migrant farmworkers and underserved populations access primary health care. It has grown to provide health care for all ages, allowing those without insurance and the underinsured.
In addition, Healthcare Network is working to make primary care services more convenient. Starting in 2023, Nichols Community Health Center added Pediatric Convenient Care on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to treat minor illnesses and injuries. Some offices, like HCN Dental Care East, have extended hours, from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Moving forward, additional facilities are planning on adding extended hours.
Also, Healthcare Network offers integrated behavioral and mental health care. If you and your child’s doctor find a possible problem with thinking or behavior, the doctor will work with other experts to decide what to do, which usually happens in one visit.
A PCP becomes your partner, sharing the responsibility for your and your family’s physical and mental health and well-being.
Salvatore Anzalone, MD, FAAP, is a pediatrician and the medical director of pediatrics for Healthcare Network. To make an appointment at Healthcare Network with a pediatric provider, call 239-658-3000, or for more information, visit HealthcareSWFL.org.