It's your health...
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In Nova Scotia, and right across Canada, Primary Health Care is being strengthened and expanded, so you and your family can live healthier lives. In fact, health care that supports people, whatever their circumstances, maintain and enhance their own health, is recognized and promoted by the World Health Organization as the fundamental tenet of health care.
When Canadians think of health care, they think first of a system of hospitals, doctors, nurses, specialists and sophisticated equipment all geared to treating us when we are sick or injured. There is no questions, all of that is a big part of our health care system. And , there is no doubt those essential elements will always be there, when we need them.
But what about your health? What about the health of you family and your community? What is happening to help you stay healthy, so you are less likely to wind up in the hospital? That's primary health care. It's your family doctor, maybe a nurse or nurse practitioner; they are part of a team, that includes other health professionals, like dentists and physiotherapists, nutritionists and counsellors all working together, in your community, for your health. And that's just the start.
Primary health care is you taking an active part in caring for your own health. If you have a chronic health condition, it's support from your neighbour, who has the same condition and is living better with it.
Primary health care is here in Nova Scotia. It's being strengthened, it's growing, it's expanding and it's going to help us all live healthier lives.
In order to provide the flexibility for teams to change composition and services in the course of anticipating and responding to the needs of the communities they serve, primary health care teams will be supported to include a variety of health disciplines. A current initiative is the implementation of midwives as new members of teams.
Some other initiatives include implementation of the electronic medical record in primary care settings, a focus on chronic disease management and addressing cultural competence, health literacy in care delivery and Directory of French Speaking Primary Health Care Providers.