AHRQ Contributes to Identifying Eight Functions Needed for High-Performing Primary Care

A new article by a team that included AHRQ researchers identified eight functions that, when performed by primary care practices, lead to meeting the “quadruple aim” of better care, healthier patients, lower costs and happier staffs. The functions are: (1) managing populations or panels, (2) planning care, (3) providing self-management support counseling or coaching, (4) managing medications, (5) providing integrated behavioral health care, (6) connecting patients with community services and resources, (7) managing referrals and (8) providing care management services for sicker patients. The authors of the article, published in Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, visited 30 sites from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's "The Primary Care Team: Learning from Effective Ambulatory Care Practices" (LEAP) Project, which studied innovative staffing arrangements at high-performing primary care practices. The authors also analyzed eight AHRQ New Models of Primary Care Workforce and Financing case studies that illustrate comprehensive, high-quality primary care. Access the abstract.