Page 15 - Living-on-the-frontline-of-COVID-19-in-MCO-and-CMCO

Primary Care/ General practice

We basically provide community-based continuing comprehensive and preventive

primary care. We are actually the point of first contact for the majority of people
seeking healthcare service. So the unique thing about us in primary care is that we

see patients with undifferentiated illnesses, and we often deal with problem
complexes rather than with established diseases. Meaning, when the patients
come to see us, they do not come with a diagnosis. In fact, they come with a range

of problems and say, if a patient comes to see us with fever, it can be anything from
dengue fever to just a simple viral infection or it can be leptospirosis, or influenza
or even a common cold. Therefore, for us in Primary Care, the clinical judgment

on the basis of the patient's disease presentation; disease severity and progression;
the age of the patient; the underlying medical condition and the epidemiologic

pattern of the infections in the community are important in helping decision-
making on the patient's treatment and management, especially in those in the
high-risk category.