PEDIATRICS Vol. 71 No. 3 March 1983, pp. 441-442
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by STRAIN, J. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by STRAIN, J. E.

Pediatrician's Role in Primary Health Care

JAMES E. STRAIN MD1

1 Denver

The article by Starfield1 highlights important aspects of primary pediatric care. She points to some of the deficiencies of the pediatric primary care model as they relate to accessibility, comprehensiveness of care and coordination of care. She then poses several provocative questions about the pediatrician's role in the delivery of primary health care to children. Pediatrics, internal medicine, and family practice have traditionally been considered primary care specialties. The truth of the matter is that general pediatrics is a mix of primary and secondary care and in some cases tertiary care. It is the mundane and the esoteric, the assessment of growth and development and the treatment of acute and chronic diseases, the management of psychosocial and biomedical disorders and the care provided in the ambulatory as well as the hospital setting that make pediatrics interesting and exciting.