Access to quality primary care has long been recognized as a cornerstone for improving population health and reducing healthcare disparities. People who can get to a doctor more easily are more likely to do so—and not just when they’re critically ill or facing an emergency. Conversely, for people who live in so-called primary care deserts, the extra logistical challenges that come with simply getting to a doctor’s office in a different part of a big city can add up to measurably worse outcomes.
So the question remains: What can we do to address these challenges? To answer that, we first have to look at where these primary care deserts are and how they came to exist in the first place, notes Oak Street Helath in this opinion piece. Read more.
