Primary Health Care As a Common Good

Abstract

Growing commodification of health care has resulted in a system that is impersonal, fragmented, and inequitable. A potential antidote to this poisonous situation is to understand and treat primary health care as a common good. Common goods are resources supported as essential to the wellbeing of all. They can be actualized through a Collective Impact approach of a developing a common agenda, shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and backbone support organizations. Investing in primary health care as a common good, with investments in primary medical care spending, support, and workforce development, complemented by integrated support of public health and social drivers of health, can launch a transitional period that moves US health care toward greater accessibility, effectiveness, equity, and sustainability.