Healthy Debate: To revitalize primary care policy, focus on relationships

In all of its forms, continuity of care brings humanity, quality and equity to clinical care. The onus should not be on people, families or caregivers to ask for the same clinician or care team, to repeat traumatic stories at each point of care, or to compile tomes of health information to bring to appointments. Our current state is failing many and it is the responsibility of provincial ministries of health to ensure that every Canadian has a continuous medical home, regardless of location, language, status or determinants of health. As we shift to a more digital system and seek to integrate existing care silos, we must commit to providing every Canadian with meaningful primary care with the strength of continuity in all its forms. Continuity of care matters. It is beyond time that we incorporate continuity as a core value for the care of all Canadians, in all contexts, with all clinicians.

Healthy Debate: To revitalize primary care policy, focus on relationships Media