This white paper shares lessons learned about how primary care practices can effectively use health information technology (IT) to support quality improvement (QI). The lessons are drawn from discussions with experts in fields such as health IT, clinical practice, primary care transformation,...

This paper addresses why the three dominant alternatives to compensating physicians (fee-for-service, capitation, and salary) fall short of what is needed to support enhanced primary care in the patient-centered medical home and the relevance of payment reforms, such as pay-for-performance and...

A systematic review examined universal mental health screening in pediatric primary care, and found little research has addressed patients' engagement in the process or how clinicians can best use screening results.

African American and Hispanic youth with mental health problems are less likely than their Caucasian counterparts to receive mental health services. Primary care providers are often the source of mental health care for children and may play a role in reducing disparities. This research...

This study found that community-dwelling individuals and nursing home residents treated by a geriatrician were less likely to use the emergency department (ED) than individuals treated by other providers. Compared with those with no geriatric care, the predicted probability of ED use in one...

Despite expectations that medical homes provide “24 × 7 coverage†there is little to guide primary care practices in developing sustainable models for accessible and coordinated after–hours care.

One goal of the Affordable Care Act is to improve patients’ access to primary care and the coordination of that care.

This article describes a literature review of articles published from 2005 to 2012 to (1) provide examples of the spectrum of roles that primary care providers can play in the successful treatment and prevention of childhood obesity in both clinic and community settings, and (2) synthesize the...

Documents workarounds used in independent, community-based primary care practices.