Reinforce Front-Line Care

Too often, our healthcare delivery system does little to encourage coordinated care, which produces better health outcomes and saves money (Institute of Medicine, 2006). In Medicare fee-for-service, for example, the average patient sees seven different physicians in four different practices each year, with little or no coordination (Pham, 2007). Also, millions of fee-for-service Medicare and Medicaid patients undergo numerous and sometimes redundant or even harmful procedures each year, with little or no coordination among their physicians.

A strong primary care workforce is key to increasing care coordination and reducing overall healthcare costs, but experts agree there is a significant and growing shortage. Just 37 percent of physicians practice primary care medicine, and only 8 percent of the nation’s medical-school graduates enter family medicine (Health Resources and Services Administration, 2008).

To deliver optimal results - improved quality and lower costs - care coordination must be integral to healthcare delivery. Primary care must be prioritized so people can get the care they need, when they need it, with greater efficiency, less redundancy and fewer return trips to the hospital or doctor’s office.