More Barbarians at the Gates: Private Equity Puts Primary Care in Play

There are still some idealistic physicians who enter primary care practice as a calling.The usual informal definition of primary care is care which is continuous, coordinated, comprehensive and compassionate.  The official definition used by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is:Primary care is that care provided by physicians specifically trained for and skilled in comprehensive first contact and continuing care for persons with any undiagnosed sign, symptom, or health concern (the 'undifferentiated' patient) not limited by problem origin (biological, behavioral, or social), organ system, or diagnosis.Primary care includes health promotion, disease prevention, health maintenance, counseling, patient education, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses in a variety of health care settings (e.g., office, inpatient, critical care, long-term care, home care, day care, etc.). Primary care is performed and managed by a personal physician often collaborating with other health professionals, and utilizing consultation or referral as appropriate.Primary care provides patient advocacy in the health care system to accomplish cost-effective care by coordination of health care services. Primary care promotes effective communication with patients and encourages the role of the patient as a partner in health care.Private Equity Firms are Buying Out Primary Care Practices However, an article this week in Modern Healthcare described how primary ca...
Source: Health Care Renewal - Category: Health Management Tags: corporate physician primary care private equity You heard it here first Source Type: blogs