Call for Submissions: Primary Care and Standard Treatment Guidelines: Bridging Evidence to Practice Gaps for Safer and Smarter Health Systems

The global health landscape is undergoing a transformative shift towards preventive, people-centric and high-quality healthcare systems.[1,2] This evolution is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Central to this transition is the pursuit of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which prioritises equitable access to essential health services without financial hardship.[3,4] A critical component of this agenda is the urgent need to enhance patient safety, reduce unwarranted clinical variation and embed evidence-based guidelines into everyday clinical practice. These measures are essential to ensuring that healthcare delivery is not only effective and efficient but also equitable and sustainable for all populations. In this backdrop, Preventive Medicine Research and Reviews aims to bring together a diverse set of articles that examine and summarises the standard treatment guidelines (STGs), clinical best practices and the implementation science underpinning preventive and promotive health. Patient Safety and Quality of Care: A Global Imperative Despite advances in therapeutics and diagnostics, unsafe care and inconsistent clinical decision-making remain the major contributors to avoidable harm and inefficiency in healthcare delivery.[3-6] Inappropriate variation in the diagnosis and treatment not only undermines the outcomes but also burdens health systems with avoidable costs and inequitable care. India has committed to advanced UHC as the part of national health policy 2017 and then through Ayushman Bharat program including health and wellness centres.[7,8] However, without STGs, patient safety, fairness and effectiveness at every level, the most vulnerable patients continue to receive substandard care, perpetuating poor health and inequality. A shift is needed, from counting services to measuring their value and impact.[9,10] One of the most effective tools for addressing this challenge is the adoption and implementation of STGs, which help align care delivery with current evidence, reduce disparities and support rational use of resources.[11-13] However, the availability of STGs alone is essential but not sufficient. The implementation gap, the chasm between what we know and what we do, is shaped by systemic barriers, lack of training, infrastructure constraints and fragmented care processes.[12,13] Closing this gap requires an integrated approach that includes provider education, monitoring systems and community-level engagement. Preventive and Promotive Health: Enabling Sustainable Development Goals through Primary Care Preventive medicine is not only a clinical strategy but also a developmental necessity. Addressing common disorders, non-communicable diseases and infectious conditions through early detection, risk reduction and health promotion directly contributes to improved population health, economic productivity and resilient health systems.[14,15] This proposed thematic issue intends to underscore the essential role of general physicians and primary care providers in delivering preventive services, supporting care and applying standardised protocols for early intervention. We are inviting authors to write simple approaches for treatment, based upon existing STGs and simplified for general physicians and family physicians. The special issue focus themes are provided in Box 1.Box 1: Special issue focus: An standard treatment guideline-informed approach to clinical excellenceA Call to Action A recurring theme across these proposed themes is the implementation gap – the challenge of converting guidelines into action. Barriers include poor provider familiarity with STGs, variable availability of essential drugs and limited health system support. This special issue would highlights the importance of: Capacity building in evidence-based practice, preventive and promotive care Digitization and integration of STGs into daily clinical workflows Audit and feedback mechanisms for performance improvement Multisectoral collaboration for preventive and promotive care delivery. This special issue aims to empower clinicians, public health professionals and policymakers with practical tools and insights to improve clinical quality, patient safety and preventive care delivery. The integration of STGs, coupled with implementation-focused strategies, is essential for achieving SDG goals and realising the vision of health for all. We invite readers to engage with the evidence, reflect on the gaps and join us in advancing a culture of safety, prevention and clinical excellence in every health encounter. Please submit your manuscript following the standard author guidelines for submission. You can register your expression of interest to submit for this special theme issue by sending an E-mail to guest editors with a copy to journal’s editor in chief by or before 31 October 2025. The final completed manuscript submission is expected by 28 February 2026. All articles will follow a standard peer-review process and those acceptable after peer reviewer recommendations will be published in a special issue in late 2026.