Essay On Pediatric Primary Care

The main sources of pediatric primary care in the United States are office-based primary care providers and pediatrician offices. Primary care entails offices that usually do not only see pediatric patients, but also adult patients so the focus is not primarily on the pediatric patient. There seems to be a lack of quality preventative care services for children that ultimately can lead to long term consequences on the child's health. Not only are there not enough sources for pediatric primary care, there is also a lack of training of pediatric health care providers in the development surveillance and in emotional and behavioral problems that affect the pediatric population that can lead to inconsistent quality of preventive care for the patient (Dunn,
According to one research article, the parent's experiences of pediatric care can be a barrier to care. The wait time that the parent has to spend in the office waiting to be seen by a provider can defer the parent from taking their child to a health care provider (Sobo, Seid, & Gelhard, 2006). Lack of health insurance is a major barrier that can lead to poorer health and result in different life paths for children, with one out of every 9 children in the United States are without health insurance. The major populations that suffer are those children that are a part of the racial and ethnic minorities. Lack of health insurance is the single highest predictor of quality of care for children in the United States (Dunn, Brady, Star, & Glosser, 2013). Lastly an important barrier is having adequately trained medical providers to provide services to the pediatric population. There is a lack of providers to be able to deliver services to meet the demands of primary care. Having more advanced practice nurses who deliver high-value primary care services will lead to better outcomes for children and their future