Want more insights about the Primary Care Investment Guide? Tune into PCC’s release webinar featuring researchers from Harvard Medical School and a reactor panel featuring leaders at the federal, state, payer and system level.
Decades of evidence has proven that whole-person primary care leads to better care, lower costs and improved health. Harvard Medical School’s Center for Primary Care Primary Care Investment Guide sheds light on how primary care can be implemented most effectively to achieve those aims.
The Investment Guide details how policymakers, employers, provider organization leadership, practices and health plans can holistically assess, plan and prioritize investments in team-based advanced primary care services.
The Guide states that the following six team-based services improve health outcomes, reduce costs, enhance patient experience, support workforce wellbeing and advance equity:
- Behavioral Health Integration, including the Primary Care Behavioral Health model and the Collaborative Care Model
- Embedded Clinical Pharmacists to optimize medication management and chronic disease control
- Care Management for patients with complex medical or social needs
- Population Health Programs that use data to close care gaps and proactively manage chronic disease
- Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and Disparities Initiatives, including systematic screening and community health worker support
- E-Consults, enabling rapid, specialist input and reducing avoidable referrals
Better Outcomes Spur Coming Changes
The Guide arrives as federal and state policymakers increasingly recognize the importance of investing more in primary care. At least five states (California, Colorado, Delaware, Oregon and Rhode Island) have legislated higher primary care spending, with others moving toward similar targets.
Underlying the Guide are data that show higher numbers of primary care clinicians are consistently linked with longer life expectancy, lower mortality and improved health outcomes.
