Primary care should be the foundation of our healthcare system.

Unfortunately, it has been underfunded and neglected for decades.

It’s plagued by lack of access, outdated technologies, underpaid and burnt-out healthcare workers.

There is frustration and disappointment all around. 

Primary care needs to be renewed. It needs to be valued. And capacity needs to be expanded as soon as possible.

One constructive approach to that challenge is to increase the involvement of the nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioners (NPs) complete advanced degrees after graduating as registered nurses. 

NPs can examine a patient. They can order labs. They can order MRIs and imaging. They can treat a patient by writing a prescription. NPs are excellent primary care providers, whether within medical practices with physicians or in their own practices. 

Many family doctors are cutting back their hours or retiring. There are few incentives for medical students to go into family medicine. And yet adding capacity to primary care is seen to be imperative by those in public health and by the public. 

There is some funding for primary care NPs by the province, and some primary care clinics with NPs are privately funded by patients.

One example, includes an NP-led clinic in Ottawa.

Four NPs are planning to open a primary care practice to serve their community.

They put out a notice of intent to open. And many thousands of patients signed up or planned to sign up.

Their plan is to charge patients an annual retainer, plus time-based charges for services provided.

While the patients signing up for this service demonstrate that patients are willing to contribute personally to access the primary care services that they need, it also demonstrates the desperate need of this community and the need for primary care to be reimagined across the province. 

RCM Health recognizes the importance of nurse practitioners in providing comprehensive primary care and leading in patient case management. 

Our nurse practitioners will often lead the way by doing the preliminary intake with the patient.

They capture detail and document findings. This can be done virtually.or in person. 

Once the findings are documented, then our nurse practitioner will invite other team members to review the case. 

Our medical doctors, our social workers, our OTs, our experts are all part of the extended team with the nurse practitioner acting in a very important patient leadership role.

Primary care is at a tipping point.

Nurse practitioners have the knowledge, experience and abilities to help many patients with the delivery of quality primary care which is either funded by the province or funded by the patients.

Patients have a choice. 

To learn more about RCM services:

647-350-5500

info@rcmhealth.ca

Raymond Rupert  

CEO  

RCM Health Consultancy Inc.

www.rcmhealth.ca