Organization of Primary Care:
An International Perspective
Del Torso S
APREF- Associazione per la
Ricerca e Formazione, Padova, Italy
Objective: The goal of primary care pediatricians all over the world has
been to provide preventive care, treatment of everyday and chronic illness,
and serve as advocates for their patients without regard to cultural or
social status. This session will provide an analysis of how dimensions of
this common goal can be achieved in a variety of national health care systems.
Method: In the 21st century all
children should receive primary care services providing continuos and
comprehensive primary pediatric care, from birth through young adulthood,
to be capable of working productively and of participating actively in the
social life of the community. Prevention
is a core value for pediatricians: well-child care will continue to provide
a vehicle for focusing on immunizations and it allows pediatricians to
promote healthy lifestyle choices, to monitor patients for physical and
behavioral pathology, and to provide age-appropriate and individualized
anticipatory guidance.
The care
of patients with chronic conditions also due to increased survivorship and
high technology care will be an important part of the primary care pediatricians
responsibilities and improved partnerships between families, pediatricians
and pediatric subspecialists must be developed to ensure an effective
answer to these demands.
Results: The primary care pediatrician should be able to
integrate with other local services, developing a long term perspective of
the changing health problems of individual children and of the community as
a whole.
Conclusion: The dramatic diversity within each country and among countries
is one of the major challenges which primary care pediatricians are asked
to meet in the 3rd millennium.