Imagine living in a country where no resident struggles to access primary care. There are no wait lists. Everyone can be seen at the local health centre, even if they haven’t registered in advance. In this episode, Dr. Tara Kiran takes you on a journey to Spain—where the right to primary care is guaranteed in law and where every community has a local health centre. Walking through the streets and historic health ministries of Barcelona, Tara speaks with health economist Tino Marti and healthcare strategy director Dr. Rafael Ruiz to understand how neighbourhood hubs bring doctors, nurses, social workers, and even publicly-covered psychologists and physiotherapists under one roof to care for entire communities. Finally, Tara sits down with digital health leader Dr. Oscar Solans to learn about La Meva Salut—a patient app that has given millions of Catalans easy digital access to lab tests, imaging, medications and more since 2009.

Learn more about Spanish primary health care

Read this four-page summary on primary care teams in Catalonia

Review this comprehensive policy paper to dive deeper into primary care transformation in Spain

Mainpro+ Credits

Family doctors in Canada can now earn Mainpro+ credits by listening to Primary Focus Podcast episodes published after May 1, 2026.

This self-learning Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for up to 30 Mainpro+ credits, with 1 credit available per eligible episode. To claim your credit, listen to the episode, review the show notes and complete the self-learning survey. Your certificate will be emailed to you. Find more information at OurCare.ca/podcast

Listen to More Episodes About Community-based Primary Care Models

If you want to learn more about how different jurisdictions organize community-oriented, team-based care models, listen to these related episodes:

In Costa Rica: How a middle-income country built a world-class primary care system

In Costa Rica: Integrating public health and primary care

In Durham: Community Wellness and Black Health

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Have an idea for an episode? Email primary.focus@unityhealth.to