Silver line in Dark Cloud of Corona Pandemic:
Reemerging
and reaffirming importance of Primary Practice.
On the eve of doctor’s day a thought came to my
mind about how the basis of delivery healthcare delivery has changed over a
period of time.
Before the current pandemic, the society and
unfortunately major stake holders and policy makers have just forgotten or
overlook the importance of primary care in the country.
We family physicians firmly believe that primary care or
family physicians are backbone and most important pillar of any healthcare
system, anywhere in the world, but all miserably failed to accept it and have
move forward and this fast life and unfortunately paying price for it.
Robust primary care in needed at all times,
may it be current pandemic or ever emerging threat of lifestyle diseases.
Let’s have a look what primary care has done in these
unprecedented times for across the world.
The main weapons or strategy to counter current pandemic and manage it are:
1. Change
in behavior of public: most important, the specialty which
connected to grass root can do it the best.
2. Mass
public education: via clinics and social media and people
still believe what there doctors say….
3. Early
diagnosis: first contact point
4. Community
tracing: good knowledge of social background of patients and community
5. Early
referral in cases where it is needed: identifying danger sings
early
6. Effective
follow up of confirmed cases after acute phase is over: post
discharge care: answering never ending questions
7. Home quarantined patients care: customized guidance depending upon
patient profile,follow up of vital signs
8. Psychological counselling: dispel the myths and remove anxiety,panic
And much more, which could do it effectively
or better to say already, done it? Of course the answer is loud and clear.
You will be surprised to know that many patients were diagnosed (because family physicians
could identify high risk patients as they have strong index of suspicion and
community connect and of course they are updated) in just first visit and that too in just 100Rs (most of the
family physicians are under paid for the class of service that they provide-but
that is not the topic today, some other time): single consultation.
Can you imagine such an affordable care that country like
India needed the most?
There are some very milder cases that can be easily
managed on out patient basis and treating at home and yet too economical.
This pandemic has 2 main
1. Economic burden on society: because most of the
businesses are affected badly, so need affordable care and this will be needed
for may be long time.
2. We do not want people to roam around: so need easily
accessible healthcare in their nearby.
Both this challenges can be easily met with robust and
efficient primary care.
The intent of this article is to show torchlight to the
society and planners to re look at the way they deal with primary care.Need is
to plan and promote it properly and secondly I wanted to thank you to my family
physician colleagues, any where in the system, government or private to keep up
the good work that they are doing now and always.
Let’s take a pledge and make a society, where everyone
has a family doctor, making healthcare the way it should be: Good quality, easy
to access and yet affordable.
Thanks you.
Dr.Pragnesh Vachharajani
Family physician, Ahmedabad
Joint
Secretary, federation of family physicians of India
Secretary,
Gujarat state family physicians` forum
Past
president, IMA, Ahmedabad.
(Views expressed here are personal)
