An overview of primary health care

Primary health care has become a focus of interest from the World Health Organization down. The hopes that more emphasis on primary care will lead to less expensive and better care will not be realized unless a more critical analysis of its problems is undertaken and some of its defects and deficiencies put right. Its roles must be better defined and the work shared within a team; training and education must be more related to its needs; and much sharper research is required to decide what is useful and what is useless.