Diabetes research in primary care: fiction, reality or essential?

Primary health care is increasingly the first point of contact in many health systems around the world. The World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) identifies primary care as a first‐contact access point for each new need, in addition to providing long‐term person‐focused follow‐up and not just disease‐focused care. Thus, comprehensive care of most of a patient's health needs is coordinated in primary care 1. In countries with a well‐established primary care workforce, primary care accounts for more than 90% of clinical contacts and manages around 80% of health problems 2. Countries that are primary care led have also been shown to be associated with lower healthcare costs and better outcomes.