A descriptive definition of the scope and content of primary health care
Henry K. Silver M.D.1 and
Patricia Rooney McAtee M.S.1
1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 4200 East Ninth Avenue Denver, Colorado 80220
The subject of primary health care and the role of the primary health care provider have recently been receiving increasing recognition. Although there may be general understanding of the term, "primary health care," its exact meaning has been inadequately delineated, thus making it difficult to define its content and the scope of the role of the primary health care provider. Many think of primary health care only as initial care, the care resulting from first contact. Others consider it as dealing mainly with the acute medical aspects of health care and, in particular, those aspects having to do with illness and disease.
