NEJM December 18, 2024
Few relationships in medicine are as sacred as the relationship between patients and their primary care practitioners. Primary care supports people from childhood through old age, in cases of routine symptoms and obscure pathology, amid health setbacks and successes. Without primary care, minor illnesses can evolve into chronic conditions, opportunities for preventing illness can be missed, care can be uncoordinated, and health care costs can increase.1 Having a greater supply of primary care physicians for a population is associated with more equitable health outcomes and longer life expectancy.1 A recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) concluded that primary care is a common good and is foundational to the U.S. health care system.1
Despite the...
Today's Sponsors
Today's Sponsor