NEHI Research on Primary Care Crisis Indentifies New Approaches for Improving Care

May 26, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, MA – In response to the growing crisis threatening primary care delivery in the United States, the New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI) today released a new report, Remaking Primary Care: From Crisis to Opportunity, which identifies the challenges facing primary care and offers new approaches that could improve care quality and outcomes.

According to NEHI’s research, the primary care crisis is the confluence of a rising demand for primary care and a decreasing supply of professionals providing these services. On the demand side, challenges to primary care are fueled by a demographic shift – the percentage of Americans aged 65 and older is expected to rise to over 20 percent by 2050 – and a rising incidence of chronic disease. Currently, 87 percent of Americans aged 65-79 live with at least one chronic condition, and much of their care has shifted from hospitals to ambulatory care settings. This trend is expected to increase, and will continue to stress the primary care system’s resources.

On the supply side, NEHI identified the relative lower pay of primary care doctors and dissatisfaction over high workloads, long hours and a sense of being undervalued as driving existing providers out of the profession while deterring new physicians from pursuing primary care. The proportion of primary care physicians has decreased from 50 percent of all physicians in 1950 to just over 30 percent in 2007, and a 2007 survey found only five percent of fourth-year medical students were interested in primary care. These declines are reflected among other primary care providers, including physician assistants and registered nurses.   

Together, these trends are resulting in decreased patient access to care – 35 percent of family medicine practices in Massachusetts are closed to new patients – and decreased patient satisfaction with the quality of their care.

“The forces of supply and demand highlighted by NEHI threaten the quality of primary care, as physicians are pressured to see a ‘revolving door’ of patients,” said Wendy Everett, president of NEHI. “Patients are, in turn, not receiving the continuity of care required to prevent and manage chronic disease.”

To combat the problem and improve the quality of primary care delivery, NEHI recommends key innovations in service delivery, site of care, reimbursement and primary care education, including:

• Primary Care Team Training – Training physicians to lead teams of registered nurses, medical assistants and other professionals will help deliver more seamless, effective care.
• Patient-Centered Medical Home – Centralizing care at a single clinical setting will improve provider efficiency and satisfaction and increase patient access.
• New Sites of Care – Offering primary care services at retail clinics, worksites and in the home will increase the availability, accessibility and continuity of care for patients, particularly those with chronic illnesses.
• Health Information Technology (HIT) – Properly implemented, technologies such as electronic medical records and computerized prescription ordering will free up physician time during visits, provide timely access to information and aid in the overall coordination of care.
• Improved Pay-for-Performance – Redesigning the system to pay for outcomes will move the system away from paying for episodic care.

“Educating primary care doctors in new ways, and paying them for the quality, not the quantity, of care, would help keep our patients healthier and leave our emergency departments less crowded,” said Dr. Joseph B. Martin, chairman emeritus of NEHI and Lefler Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School.

To download Remaking Primary Care, visit www.nehi.net.

###

About NEHI
The New England Healthcare Institute is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming health care for the benefit of patients and their families. In partnership with members from all across the health care system, NEHI conducts evidence-based research and stimulates policy change to improve the quality and the value of health care. Together with this unparalleled network of committed health care leaders, NEHI brings an objective, collaborative and fresh voice to health policy. For more information, visit www.nehi.net.