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Protecting Foster Care-Involved Youth with Asthma in the District of Columbia
In the 17th annual Child Fatality Review Report, the DC Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) disclosed the death of a 9-year-old female involved... -
Integrating Weight Management in Primary Care
The obesity prevalence among U.S. adults has increased at an alarming rate in the past several decades, reaching 42 percent in 2018 or about 110... -
Reflections on Differences in Health Care Between a Kingdom and a Democracy
A hospital is often seen as a sanctuary—a bubble of refuge for local and migrant populations alike. However, in order for a hospital to provide care,...
Archive
Perspectives in Primary Care features writing from practitioners, activists, and community members representing organizations, practices, and institutions across the United States and around the world.
HMS Family Medicine Alumni Spotlight
The Harvard Home for Family Medicine builds upon the growing community of HMS family medicine students, residents, and attendings engaged in family medicine education, research, and mentorship opportunities. While most of our more active participants are based within the Harvard system, our Harvard Medical School students often graduate to residencies further afield. In this series, we’re thrilled to spotlight what some of our recent HMS Family Medicine students have gone on to achieve. Name:
Pursuing Primary Care at Harvard Medical School
What influences Harvard Medical School (HMS) students to pursue a career in primary care? In our study, we surveyed HMS graduates from 1980 to 2016 who matched into internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics residencies to dig deep into this question. We learned that three out of four students who started HMS with an interest in primary care stuck with their goal. Over the 37 years, the ...
Where does the individual physician fit in the new medicine?
By Steven A. Barrett, MD, FAAFP I am realizing that practice management in the new medicine is derived more from “group-think” than individual initiative. While this might work well for large medical organizations, where does it leave the imaginative individual physician trying to create improved medical care delivery systems? Of course, I am speaking from personal experience and raising this issue as a challenge to our medical system to be more open and inclusive and take advantage of all available bright ideas for improvement. ...
The Art of the Referral
By Linda Girgis, MD In our current practice of medicine, many people don’t understand what a primary care physician (PCP) does. Some are disillusioned that the PCP serves as a glorified receptionist, just sitting in their offices to pass out referrals to specialists, the real doctors. Often, patients call my office for a referral to a specialist based on a problem that we never treated them for. Many people don’t understand why the receptionist cannot just give them a referral. A referral involves medical decision making and is part of ...
P2P+E: Understanding the employer role in an improved patient-to-primary care physician relationship
Creating sustainable, timely care delivery models designed to help patients achieve improved health outcomes is a challenge. The complex, chronic conditions of America’s workforce are driving the need for these models forcing employers into the position of leading health care delivery innovation. Employers, the primary source of insurance for 55.7% of Americans[i], have found themselves tasked with reducing healthcare’s unprecedented, rising costs to protect employee health, talent retention, productivity, and ...
