Primary Health Care

What is Primary Health Care?

Primary health care is a model of care that supports first-contact, accessible, continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated person-focused care. It enables health systems to support a person’s health needs – from health promotion to disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, palliative care and more. This also ensures that health care is delivered in a way that is centred on people’s needs and respects their preferences. Health systems with strong primary care get the best outcomes for their population, at the most affordable costs, in a way that is both equitable and accessible.

In New Brunswick, access to primary care is currently a challenge, under its current service delivery model. This is due to several factors, including and aging and growing population, an aging health care workforce, and the recruitment and retention of primary care providers.

Family Health Teams

Horizon’s Team-Based Interprofessional Collaborative Care Model

Horizon is committed to the transformation of primary care delivery, towards an enhanced team-based interprofessional collaborative care model, referred to as Family Health Teams (FHT). This model, based on the concept of the Patient Medical Home (PMH), in which family physicians work in teams with other health care professionals to provide accessible, high-quality care for their patients.

“PMH-aligned practices have shown to improve quality of care and satisfaction while having potential to save costs across the health care system” – it represents the future of primary care in Canada.

The functions of Family Health Teams

• Accessible Care – By adopting advanced and timely access, virtual access and team-based approaches, accessible care ensures that patients can be seen quickly.

• Community Adaptiveness and Social Accountability – A Family Health Team is accountable to its community, and meets their needs through interventions at the patient, practice, community, and policy levels.

• Comprehensive Team-Based Care with Family Physician Leadership – A broad range of services is offered by an interprofessional team. The patient does not always see their family physician, but interactions with all team members are communicated efficiently within a PMH. The team might not be co-located, but the patient is always seen by a professional with relevant skills who can connect with a physician (ideally the patient’s own personal physician) as necessary.

• Continuity of Care – Patients live healthier, fuller lives when they receive care from a responsible provider who journeys with them and knows how their health changes over time.

• Patient and Family Partnered Care – Family practices respond to the unique needs of patients and their families within the context of their environment.

Family Health Teams and the “Health Home” are part of a broader Primary Care Ecosystem, which are supported by a neighbourhood of health partners and community-based organizations, as well as our communities, who work together in addressing the social determinants of health.