Primary Health Care

'In both, clinical practitioners and scientists, few find it more convenient to depend upon irrelevant clarifications, while the rest never stop looking for answers'. With these astonishing words, Augusto Murri, an Italian veteran in clinical medicine, emphasizes on the fact that medical practice must be a constant journey towards knowledge and quality of care. This book is a compilation of contributions from across the globe. Distinct cultures are portrayed together, from those with developed technologies to those of indefinite spirituality, but they are all associated to each other through 5 professional characteristics, that in the 1978 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) stated as most important for practicing good Primary Care: coordination, accessibility, accountability, comprehensiveness and continuity. The content in this book is organized under two characteristics - coordination and accessibility. This would provide the reader with an international overview of hot topics and novel insights in the area. 3