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Primary Care addresses the routine medical needs of patients (i.e., initial diagnoses, annual exams and continual treatment of illness and preventive care) with timely, courteous, and patient-focused service. We provide health promotion and disease prevention through patient education and clinical intervention.
Scope of Services Provided
Health care services are provided in a clinic setting. A multidisciplinary team approach is used to provide coordinated, continuous and comprehensive care and services. Areas of emphasis include:
- Health Promotions
- Disease Prevention
- Acute and on-going Health Care Management
- Patient and Family Education
Women's Health
Women's Health Services includes primary care, mental health, gender specific preventive health care and office management of common gynecological problems.
Accessing Services
- Veterans may request enrollment in Primary Care at the time of registration or may be referred to Primary Care through other mechanisms such as: following Urgent Care or Emergency Department visit, inpatient admission, or from specialty care.
- Patients receiving care, or are expected to need ongoing outpatient medical care, are assigned to a Primary Care Provider (PCP) and primary care team.
- Patients are informed of their PCP assignment and the electronic medical record indicates this designation to facilitate continuity of care system-wide.
- Primary Care services are available on all 9 campuses of the VA BHS. There are 3 divisions (Jamaica Plain, Brockton and West Roxbury ) and 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) with varying size and scope of services.
Scheduled clinic appointments are available, Monday through Friday with hours of operation from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm unless otherwise designated.
Except for medical emergencies, care is provided by SCHEDULED APPOINTMENTS.
Emergency Services are provided in the Emergency Department on the West Roxbury campus only. However, for urgent conditions appropriate to be treated in primary care clinic settings and that do not meet ED severity of illness, same-day or next-day appointments in primary care are available.
Patient Call Center
The Patient Call Center is a very important part of primary care, providing ready access to the primary care team. Patients may use this system to communicate with the team, receive clinical advice or answers to questions, request renewal of medications, and to make or change a clinic appointment. All patients enrolled in primary care have access to this service.
To reach the Patient Call Center, dial 1-800-865-3384, available 24 hours per day.
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