Primary care in high-income countries: How the United States compares (The Commonwealth Fund, 15 March 2022)

Summary

Primary care providers (PCPs) serve as most people’s first point of contact with the healthcare system. These clinicians build relationships with their patients over time and help coordinate care delivered by other health care providers. Evidence shows that a strong foundation of primary care yields better health outcomes overall, greater equity in health care access and outcomes, and lower per capita health costs.

But in the United States, decades of underinvestment and a low provider supply, among other problems, have limited access to effective primary care. This Commonwealth Fund brief highlights gaps in the US primary care system by comparing its performance to systems in 10 other high-income countries.