Commentary Discusses Ways To Improve Primary Care

"21st-Century Primary Care: New Physician Roles Need New Payment Models," Journal of the American Medical Association: In the JAMA commentary, physicians Richard Baron and Christine Cassel discuss how fee-for-service reimbursement has "undermined good primary care" and new models that aim to provide more efficient care. According to the authors, innovations in both care delivery models and financing structures are needed, but new initiatives must be "intensely evaluated" to determine which models work, as well as the "optimum profile of physician contribution to success." The authors write that "first contact" and "preventive/screening" components of traditional primary care might be better managed by nonphysician health care professionals, but such services must be linked to "ongoing comprehensive patient care models," and physicians "must be trained to be effective partners in such teams" (Baron/Cassel, JAMA, 4/2).