What is Primary Care?
Definition
Primary care is the provision of integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 1994; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [ACA], 2010).
The reason that definition is so important that it is defined in the Affordable Care Act, but also it is consistent with the philosophy of occupational therapy. The current definition of primary care is probably the biggest reason to support why occupational therapists should be in the primary care setting.
Triple Aim
The Triple Aim is another term that you are going to hear a lot in health care these days, if you have not heard about it already. I will talk about it a little bit here, and will keep referring back to it throughout the seminar as I explain to you how occupational therapy in primary care is addressing the goals of the Triple Aim.
The Triple Aim is a framework that was developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement IHI), and it is an accepted definition of the overarching goals of primary care. It describes an approach to optimizing health system performance as well. The tenants of the Triple Aim are the patient will have an:
- Improved experience or satisfaction with their care and the quality of their care.
- It will improve the health of populations , and in the process of improving the patient care and addressing the needs of the health populations,
- Reduce the per capita cost of healthcare.
http://www.ihi.org/Engage/Initiatives/TripleAim/Pages/default.aspx
The philosophy of OT lends itself to facilitate the Triple Aim. There is evidence to support the cost effectiveness of OT and primary care in the literature. There is not a lot published on OT and primary care, but what is there supports the cost effectiveness. OTs have a unique ability to use groups. We are well trained to use groups and understand group dynamics. The use of groups is a strategy for management of populations. Groups can be used to address chronic diseases, depression, pain management, lifestyle modification, coping strategies, and many other things. The use of groups can be a cost containment strategy.
