This is an animated video lecture on PRIMARY HEALTH CARE based on the PARK TEXTBOOK of COMMUNITY MEDICINE. Hey guys.......welcome to abmbbs.....todays topic is PRIMARY HEALTH CARE.....now this is a topic which is quite complicated in the PARK TEXTBOOK but in this video we have condensed the chapter & given only the must know points. First up...what is the definition of Primary Health Care?? Primary Health Care is the essential health care made universally accessible to individuals & acceptable to them , through their full participation & at a cost the country & community can afford. Now, the definition in itself is pretty complicated & is bound to make you nauseous. But if you break it down to just the main points then it gets pretty simple..........Remember that Primary Health Care consists only of the bare essentials of our health care needs.It is the bare minimum which needs to be given in any medical condition.........….Secondly Primary Health Care must be accessible to the people to whom it is being given.A big tertiary care hospital located 20kms away from the patients home cannot be considered as Primary Health Care............Thirdly the Primary Health Care that is given must be acceptable to the patients.A rectal exam or a colonoscopy might not be acceptable to the majority of the population & hence should not be considered as Primary Health Care..............The community to whom the Primary Health Care is being given must actively take part in the process.Without their full participation Primary Health Care cannot be truly given.............................Finally,the healthcare that is given in Primary Health Care must be in accordance to the economic condition of the country. Next we come to the Principles of Primary Health Care...........Number 1 is Equitable Distribution.......the majority of the healthcare services in India are concentrated in the towns & cities.... whereas the rural areas which need healthcare services more hardly have any.....Primary Health Care aims to redress this imbalance by focussing on the rural areas & bringing these services as close to people's home as possible. Number 2 is Community Participation …....As mentioned earlier, without the full participation of the local population, discharging healthcare needs is not possible...So Government of India is training village health guides & local dais from the local community itself.....these people, being localites, can overcome the cultural & communication barriers more easily. Number 3 is Intersectoral Coordination...Government of India has realised that Primary Health Care cannot be provided by the healthcare sector alone.The different wings of the government must come together & work in an integrated fashion. Number 4 is Appropriate Technology.... Now it goes without saying that the government spending on healthcare is extremely low & our our public healthcare institutions do not have the money for doing costly diagnostic tests & treatments...So Primary Health Care in India must rely on low budget technologies..One such technology is ORS...it is a low cost treatment for diarrhoea & dehydration..it can be stored anywhere & hardly has any side effects. Next we come to the levels of Primary Health Care....First is the Primary level...it is the first level of contact between the healthcare setup & the patient.It includes Subcentre &....Primary Health Centre. The secondary level or the 1st referral level is the Community health centre. Finally comes the Tertiary level which is the 2nd referral level.It includes Medical colleges & hospitals. So......now lets talk about Subcentre in detail....this one...It is the most peripheral & 1st contact point between the healthcare facility & the patient.It has 3 employees.....the health worker male, the health worker female & voluntary worker.Also the ministry of health & family welfare provides 100% funding for subcentres. Guys....thank you for watching this video...Please do not forget to like , share & subscribe if you like our work....the abmbbs community is growing at a phenominal rate & we are truly grateful to you. We believe that medical education should be fun & free for everyone.......Bubyeeee......& happy learning..