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.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality Among Children and Teens

Due to early misconceptions that COVID-19 didn’t lead to severe disease or death in children, US state surveillance dashboards were not set up to track the course of the pandemic among age-specific groups. Over time, state reporting for children has gradually improved, and The COVKID Project has been synthesizing and sharing data for children and teens since late April 2020. Although 49 of 50 states now report COVID-19 case counts by age (with New York being the exception), only 2 ...

The COVID-19 Pandemic: Now is the Time for Primary Care to Address Loneliness

With more than 6 million diagnosed cases and nearly 200,000 deaths in the United States, the novel coronavirus is our nation’s most pressing public health crisis. And further, physical distancing measures have resulted in significant

Impacts of COVID-19 on Relief-Seeking Immigrant Children

In times of crisis, the most vulnerable populations are often the ones most affected. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrant children arriving to the United States already faced difficulties navigating a complex and intimidating system to seek refuge. However, in the six months since the COVID pandemic fundamentally altered our way of life, the

The Answer to Full-Spectrum Clinical Care Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: Family Medicine

Her eyes were tired but happy above her surgical mask. Her breathing was quick, as she sat with her 2-day old son cradled in her arms. Ana looked down as he started to wiggle, rooting for a meal. She’d been discharged from the hospital 24 hours after her vaginal delivery, her COVID-related cough and difficulty breathing improved but not resolved. Ana and her son had a shared respiratory clinic appointment with a family physician—one ...

Investment & Innovation in Primary Care: An Update and Call to Action

We’ve all seen the headlines—primary care practices are in trouble: “America’s looming primary care crisis,” “Fewer than 10% of primary care practices have stabilized operations amid COVID-19 pandemic,” and “

COVID-19 Exacerbates Food Insecurity in Latino Children & Families

COVID-19 has exacerbated long-standing health disparities that continue to affect Latino families, and further, the pandemic has revealed that many Latino families are struggling to put food on the table. Food insecurity affects 37 million Americans, including 11.2 million children—and this is especially urgent within the Latino community. Prior to COVID-19,

Primary Care and COVID-19

Primary care is the foundation for population health and well-being. Unfortunately, our efforts to address the coronavirus pandemic have exposed many critical structural deficiencies in our country’s health care system, most notably the lack of investment in primary care. Equal access and equitable care While the disparate impact of the coronavirus on

Primary Care Transformation in a COVID-19 World

Access to comprehensive primary care has long been a challenge in the United States, and the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will have far reaching implications on our healthcare system. Sixty percent of Americans have at least one chronic condition, and many patients have complex needs that require additional coordination, time and resources than what traditional models of care ...

Striving for Patient Centeredness Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

I heard the commotion from my “captain’s chair,” the seat for the lead clinician at our respiratory clinic. The medical assistants, gloved and masked, hurriedly pushed the wheelchair past my door and into the “emergency” exam room, and I glimpsed a tiny hunched figure in the chair, all dressed in black, with her face grayish brown. “Oxygen saturation 84, we’re calling EMS,” the medical assistant called out, as a nurse walked swiftly into the room to apply oxygen. A clinician jogged over to the personal protective equipment (PPE) room to don her full armor before heading to the patient’s ...