7. Developing a strong primary health care system

Abstract

A number of comparative studies have demonstrated an association between the provision of primary care in developed countries and favourable markers of health status. There is also evidence for an association between health-care systems that are organised around a strong primary-care sector and reduced health inequalities. Because they reach so much of the population, primary care services such as general practice have an opportunity to address health inequities by improving access to quality care: for example, by providing better anticipatory or preventive care within primary care services themselves, and by outreach into disadvantaged communities.