Table 1.

Attributes of Primary Care

The value of primary care emerges from synergy among:15,36–38
• Accessibility as the first contact with the health care system
• Accountability for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs (comprehensiveness)
• Coordination of care across settings, and integration of care of acute and (often co-morbid) chronic illnesses, mental health and prevention, guiding access to more narrowly focused care when needed
• Sustained partnership and personal relationships over time with patients known in the context of family and community