Primary Care Office
Mission
The mission of the Primary Care Office
is to assure that vulnerable, low-income, uninsured or otherwise
underserved Kansas residents receive adequate access to affordable primary
health care services.
State Primary Care Offices are funded in part by the Department of Health
and Human Services. These offices are located in state departments of
health to represent the needs of the underserved populations and the
health professionals who serve them. The Primary Care Office assessment
and assistance work is focused on helping local communities through health
care access planning, data assistance, specific program services, and
technical consultation.
Primary Care Defined: Primary health care includes not only medical
care but also dental and mental health services. According to the
Institute of Medicine (IOM), primary care is patient-focused,
comprehensive, coordinated, accessible care delivered by an identified
main clinician, with continuity over time, working in the context of team
and community. The primary care professional is typically the first point
of contact. Primary care should provide an individual with a broad
spectrum of care, both preventive and curative, over a period of time and
coordinate all of the care an individual receives. The best quality care
is received through an integrated delivery system with a health care base
that includes medical, dental, mental health and substance abuse services.
Programs and Activities of the primary care office include:
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Administering a program of state
grants to support primary care clinics serving as the state’s safety-net
by providing a health care base for underserved Kansans;
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Identifying and making application
for federal designations including Health Professional Shortage Areas
and Medically Underserved Areas;
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Evaluating access for underserved
populations including persons covered by state medical assistance
programs such as HealthWave and Medicaid;
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Supporting activities to recruit and
retain health professionals, including assistance to communities seeking
support from the National Health Service Corps;
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Administering the state’s J-1 visa
waiver review program for recruitment of foreign trained physicians;
- Administering federal funds for
health professional Loan Repayment Assistance, and
Directing the Charitable Health Care Provider Program.
Overview of Primary Care
The Primary Care Office seeks to ensure that
the underinsured and medically indigent of Kansas receive adequate primary care
services.
The Primary Care Office (PCO) approaches this work by looking at the larger
health care delivery system and collaboration of public/private partnerships.
The overall goal is primary care access for the underserved including: the
uninsured, underinsured, low-wage and other vulnerable Kansans. Primary care
service delivery is vital in both rural and urban Kansas. Primary care services
are the starting place for important prevention activities that ultimately
reduce the occurrence of costly illnesses and prevent disease.
The office has three staff:
Questions we can help you answer:
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Are we located in a medically
underserved area (MUA or HPSA)?
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Can we recruit a physician with a
J-1 visa?
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Are their positions available for
physicians on a J-1 visa?
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Can we get loan repayment help for a
provider?
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What is the difference between State
and Federal loan repayment?
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Am I eligible to recruit a National
Health Service Corps provider?
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Where can a person find discounted
medical or dental care?
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What does it take to become a
Community Health Center (CHC)?
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What is the difference between a
FQHC and a Community Health Center?
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How do I become a Rural Health
Clinic?
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What is an automatic HPSA?
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Am I eligible for 340B Prescription
Drug Pricing?
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Is there a program of liability
protection for volunteer physicians or dentists?
Additional technical assistance and
consultation roles of the PCO:
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Identify the designation status of
proposed service areas and provide technical assistance regarding
shortage designations.
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Assure that areas/populations in
need of increased access are appropriately designated as Medically
Underserved Areas (MUAs), Medically Underserved Populations (MUPs), or
Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) to make maximum use of
federal resources.
-
Explain the benefits of health
professional shortage designations.
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Assist in reviewing the service
area, if it is not currently designated as underserved.
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Work with all health care delivery
systems and community leaders to develop and plan community based
comprehensive primary care access responsive to the unmet needs of
low-income populations.
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Assist the Kansas Association for
the Medically Underserved (KAMU), the State’s Primary Care Association (PCA)
in identifying areas of the state that have greatest need for increased
access.
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Provide communities with needs
assessment tools for evaluating their communities for health care access
improvement.
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Link communities with state and
federal resources for planning, grant consultation and development, and
recruitment and retention of health care professionals.
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Provide the names of contacts in the
Primary Care Office (PCO) and Primary Care Association (PCA) offices in
other states.
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