Question

Write THREE (3) paragraphs about:

• the special contribution which Primary Care Practitioners can make to patient care, AND THE SPECIAL POSITIVE ROLE THEY CAN PLAY IN MANAGING PATIENTS.
• how DOES THIS CONTRIBUTION DIFFER from what Specialty Care Practitioners can provide?
• HOW HAS THE STATUS AND ROLE OF PRIMARY CARE PRACTITIONERS AS CARE GIVIERS CHANGED SINCE THE SHIFT TO MANAGED HEALTH INSURANCE, AND ESPECIALLY TO HMOs, SINCE THE MID 1990s?

Answer 1

Ans) Decades of research have shown that a good relationship with your physician is important to your health. Patients who have good relationships and effective communication with their physicians are more satisfied with their care and better able to manage their medical problems.

- Changes in local health care markets have contributed to rising costs and created new access problems for consumers. Moreover, the trajectory of change promises to make the goals of cost-control and quality improvement more difficult to achieve in the future.

- Between 1990 and 1995, the number of public and privately insured enrolled in a health maintenance organization (HMO) grew from 36.5 million to 58.2 million, and by 1995, the majority of Americans with employer-based health insurance were enrolled in some form of managed care plan (Gabel 1997). These plans relied on selective provider networks and negotiated payment rates to help infuse greater cost-consciousness on the part of providers; Bindman et al. 1998). Some used risk-based payment arrangements to give providers financial incentives to manage service utilization.