What is primary health care?
Primary health care is often a patients’ first point of contact with the health care system.
The term ‘primary health care’ not only covers visits to the doctor when you are sick or need a check-up, but also the work done in the community to:
- Promote healthy living
- Prevent diseases and injuries, and
- Provide rehabilitation programmes
In New Zealand, we follow an international system where health care is described as being primary, secondary (hospitals) and tertiary (specialist health care).
Rotorua Area Primary Health Services (RAPHS) is what is known as a primary health care service delivery network and is made up General Practice teams working with other health care professionals who provide primary health care in the Rotorua area.
RAPHS members not only provide primary health care to more than 70,000 people, they assist patients to access hospital and specialist care if and when necessary, and work with to improve community health through health promotions, screening programmes, vaccinations and other methods.
You’ll notice that our members put patients first.
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