Trends in Primary Care: Western Europe - Essay Example

            Many countries in Western Europe have developed a strengthened approach to primary care by employing reforms in their framework such as introducing general practice as a singular medical specialization, fostering group practice, augmenting the services that can be provided by PC professionals, delegating tasks that were originally doctor-based to other health care professionals, and initiating the “money follows the patient” system where the providers will determine which services to purchase for a patient (World Health Organization, 2014).

            In Ireland, General Practitioners (GP) are deemed as “gatekeepers” before a patient goes ahead to consult a specialist. A non-emergency patient who goes directly to an Accident & Emergency (A&E) department of a public hospital will be charged €60 as a way of fine. But, if he has a referral letter from a GP or is a Medical Cardholder this fee is waived. The purpose of which is to discourage immediate results from A&E when a condition can easily be solved within primary care (World Health Organization, 2014). These innovations and many others provide an alternative to health care delivery and a means to avoid additional expenditures that Americans can take from.