Overview
Primary health care is the first and main place people go for:
- health care or wellness advice and programs
- non emergent treatment of a health issue or injury
- to diagnose and manage a health condition
Primary health care includes all the services in your community that support the day-to-day health needs of you and your family through every stage of life.
Some examples of primary health care services include:
- a visit to your primary care provider (family doctor or nurse practitioner)
- a consultation with a specialist
- advice from a pharmacist
- preventative care and chronic disease management
- an appointment with other health care providers such as a dietitian, physiotherapist or mental health provider
Primary health care includes a focus on wellness and connecting you with social supports that influence your health status, such as housing or family and community services; and building and facilitating access to culturally safe and respectful primary care for Indigenous peoples in Alberta.
Primary health care draws on the expertise of many different providers working together. It recognizes that your health, wellness and quality of life are influenced by your economic, cultural and physical situations, and your spiritual beliefs.
Regular and ongoing care
Your main point of contact for primary health care are your health care providers. For most people, this is your family doctor or nurse practitioner’s clinic.
Health care providers will be different across Alberta, but they all have the same role:
- provide a place where you get primary health care services from a team and connect to other health and social services
- help co-ordinate and manage your health care journey
Continuity of care
Continuity of care means you have an ongoing relationship with your family doctor or nurse practitioner and other team members. Your health information is transferred between care providers, and care is co-ordinated across different settings.
Other benefits include:
- access to a trusted primary health care team
- support achieving personal health care goals
- more preventive care and chronic disease management
- support from a care team who will partner with you to manage your health care journey
Having a consistent relationship means your health care providers know you and your medical history. This reduces the number of times you must tell your story or undergo duplicate tests.
- Your knowledge, ideas, and preferences are valued.
- You can actively participate in your health care decision-making, which helps you and your provider to better plan and co-ordinate your care.
Evidence shows that people who have a regular primary health care provider or team:
- are more satisfied with their care
- receive more preventive and chronic disease care
- make fewer visits to the emergency room
- are not admitted to hospital as often
You can help maintain continuity of care by going to your regular family doctor or nurse practitioner when you need a health service.
If your regular provider is unavailable, you can seek care from other members of the team or clinic who will share information with your regular health care provider.
When you require urgent medical attention from an emergency department, you can make sure someone within your health care team is aware of the visit.
Primary health care models
Primary health care is predominantly provided across the province in over 1,000 community-based physician clinics. In addition, there are a number of other ways primary care is delivered in Alberta:
Community profiles
To assist with primary health care planning, community profile reports have been written to provide a broad range of demographic, socio-economic, and population health statistics considered relevant to primary health care for communities across the province.
The province is divided into 5 large health service zones. These zones are subdivided into 132 smaller geographic areas called local geographic areas (LGAs).
Each profile offers an overview of the:
- current health status of the residents in the LGA
- indicators of the area’s current and future health needs
- evidence as to which quality services are needed on a timely and efficient basis to address the area’s needs
Read the primary health care community profiles.