Sri Lanka Urgent Need To Systemize Ambulatory Primary Healthcare 🏥

• Demand Breakdown: - Annual Govt hospital admissions: 6-7 Mn - Annual Govt OPD (Ambulatory Primary Curative Care): 80 Mn - Annual Private OPD visits: 40-45 Mn - Average patient visit rate: 6 visits per person/year • Systemic Shift & Treasury Impact: - Bureaucratic focus has historically prioritized organ/disease-centered specialist care over primary care. - Neglect of primary healthcare creates severe population health risks and financial burdens on the national treasury. - Advocates urge a patient-centered model maintaining free access at the point of care. • Medical Training Reform: - Final MBBS degree alone is deemed insufficient to deliver quality primary ambulatory care. - Mandates a structured in-service training program in General Practice/Family Medicine before posting doctors to Primary Care Centres (similar to MoH preventive care training). - Essential skills must cover risk identification, sustained treatment, complication management, emergency response, and referral protocols to build competent "five-star" community doctors.