The Development of Primary Care Unit Establishment in Primary Healthcare Network

Primary Care Unit Establishment

Abstract

Primary care clinics play a crucial role in strengthening the  primary healthcare system. This action research aimed to  assess the current situation and develop a framework for  establishing a primary care unit within the primary  healthcare service network in Loei Province, involving 79 participants, including 73 members of the quality  assessment and standardization committees for primary  healthcare services, along with six family medicine  physicians. The study was conducted from October 2023 to  September 2024.The findings revealed that healthcare facilities failed to meet seven key criteria: personnel  management and service capacity, facility location,  information systems, primary healthcare service systems,  laboratory services, pharmaceutical services and consumer  protection, and infection prevention and control. A  provincial-level framework for establishing primary care  units should encompass six key aspects, summarized as  "IMPACC": integration of projects, management of  structure and responsibilities, personnel allocation and development, academic and technical support, clinical  facility and infrastructure improvement, and continuous  monitoring and motivation. Following the implementation  of this framework, the proportion of primary care unit  meeting the assessment criteria significantly increased from 6.25% to 100% (p < 0.001), and the median assessment score improved significantly from 235.5 to 272.0 points (p <  0.001). The proposed framework should be adopted to scale up the establishment of primary care units at the provincial  level