Primary Care's Code Blue: Can Basic Patient Care Be Revitalized?

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Author
Gose, Leah E.
Subject
Washington and Lee University -- Capstone in Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability
Emergency medical services -- Utilization
Health care reform -- Government policy
Health services accessibility
Health insurance -- Government policy
Medical records -- Management
Ambulatory medical care
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Leah E. Gose is a member of the Class of 2015 of Washington and Lee University. Capstone; [FULL-TEXT FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE] Part One of this paper will identify what it means exactly to access primary care in the ER, the people who access such care, and why they access primary care in the ER. I argue that those who access primary/ambulatory care in the ER do so due to myriad social, structural, economic barriers to be further discussed in this paper. The current healthcare system hurts patients and fails to provide equal access to preventive- and treatment-based primary care. In part two, I state that we have a responsibility to provide solutions to the unequal and superfluous “primary” care that is commonly accessed in ERs due to such barriers, supported by the Rawlsian claims of Norman Daniels. Lastly, I identify the most relevant and feasible current and possible solutions for eliminating primary care-based ER visits. [From Introduction] Leah Gose