Primary care providers (PCPs) serve as most people’s first point of contact with the health care system. These clinicians build relationships with their patients over time and help coordinate care delivered by other health care providers.1 Evidence shows that a strong foundation of primary care yields better health outcomes overall, greater equity in health care access and outcomes, and lower per capita health costs.2
But in the United States, decades of underinvestment and a low provider supply, among other problems, have limited access to effective primary care.3 This brief highlights gaps in the U.S. primary care system by comparing its performance to systems in 10 other high-income countries. We draw on data from the Commonwealth Fund’s 2019 and 2020 international surveys, along with data from the Fund’s 2020 International Profiles of Health Care Systems. (See “How We Conducted This Study” for further details.)
Highlights
- U.S. adults are the least likely to have a regular physician or place of care, or a longstanding relationship with a primary care provider.
- Access to home visits or after-hours care is lowest in the U.S.
- U.S. primary care providers are the most likely to screen for social service needs.
- Half of U.S. primary care physicians report adequate coordination with specialists and hospitals — around the average for the 11 countries studied.