Primary Care Issues in Inner-City America and Internationally

Inner-city patient populations are high-risk for poor outcomes, including increased risk of mortality. Barriers to delivering high-quality primary care to inner-city patients include lack of access, poor distribution of primary care providers (PCPs), competing demands, and financial restraints. Health care issues prevalent in this population include obesity, diabetes, cancer screening, asthma, infectious diseases, and obstetric and prenatal care. Population health management and quality improvement (QI) activities must target disparities in care. Partnering with patients and focusing on social determinants of health and medical care are key areas in which to focus to improve overall health outcomes in this population.