Levels of Care
Where basic preventive and curative care is provided, where patients receive regular screening, immunizations, wellness care, and sick care.
What is Primary Care?
Managing diabetes or asthma over time usually occurs at this level.
What is primary care?
This global model is funded through taxes and is often government-run.
What is the Beveridge model?
The ability to obtain appropriate healthcare when and where it is needed.
What is healthcare access?
This care model focuses on the whole person and shared decision-making.
What is patient-centered care?
This level of care usually requires a referral or emergency need.
What is secondary care?
Seeing a cardiologist after a PCP referral is an example of this level.
What is secondary care?
This model uses employer- and employee-funded insurance.
What is the Bismarck model?
Living far from providers is an example of this type of barrier.
What is a geographic barrier?
Using interpreters and respecting beliefs are examples of this.
What is culturally competent care?
This level of care provides highly specialized and advanced treatment.
What is tertiary care?
Organ transplants and burn units are examples of this level.
What is tertiary care?
This model uses a single government-run insurance program.
What is the National Health Insurance model?
High deductibles and copays are examples of this barrier.
What is a financial barrier?
Breaking down silos and working as teams describes this type of culture.
What is a collaborative culture?
It emphasizes prevention, early detection, coordination, and continuity, reducing costs and improving outcomes.
Why is primary care considered the foundation of the healthcare system?
It requires advanced technology, specialists, and high resources.
Why is tertiary care limited to certain hospitals?
It combines employer-based insurance, government programs, and private/out-of-pocket care.
Why is the U.S. healthcare system considered a hybrid?
Systematic differences in access, treatment, or outcomes among groups.
What are healthcare disparities?
A system that encourages reporting errors without blame is called this.
What is a culture of safety?
Higher costs, fragmented care, delayed prevention, and worse health outcomes.
What are some risks of relying on secondary care as the main entry point into healthcare?
Professional patient flow: primary → secondary → tertiary → back to lower levels for follow-up.
How should patients ideally move through the levels of care?
Complexity, inequitable access, administrative burden, or coverage gaps.
What are some challenges of having a hybrid healthcare system?
Intrinsic: mistrust or health literacy; Extrinsic: systemic racism or infrastructure gaps.
What is one intrinsic and one extrinsic factor contributing to disparities?
Plan, Do, Study, Act.
What does PDSA stand for in quality improvement?