A global leader in primary care research

Over the past 10 years, the Center has produced more than 100 publications on topics such as primary care health outcomes; innovation and systems transformation in primary care; leadership and team-building; primary care education; financing of primary care and the transition to value-based care payment systems; community health workers; case studies; global health; resilience among healthcare workers; and equity. This research advances our understanding of how primary care can best improve health care outcomes, reduce health care costs, promote health care worker well-being and provide equitable care for all.

Center Research

Equity

Equity in health care is central to the mission of the Center and is interwoven into many areas of research. Our research includes how primary care health education can be transformed to advance health equity, and how primary care innovations and oral health can advance health equity.

Featured equity research

 

View the full list of equity research

Primary care financing

An important area of research concerns primary care financing and the impact of primary care transformation or innovation on health care financing. In this area, Center researchers have used microsimulation models to estimate the potential impact of COVID-19 on the operating expenses and revenues of primary care practices, to study primary care practices and financial risk, to examine the relationship between state commercial health care spending growth through price controls on health care quality, and to study the financial sustainability of team-based care and patient-centered medical home (PCMH) innovations. This research has also focused on how physician- and practice-level continuity are associated with Medicare expenditures and health care outcomes and the financial impact for primary care practices of integrating behavioral health services.

Featured financing research

 

View the full list of leadership and team building research

Health outcomes

Center research has focused on health outcomes in primary care and sub-specialties including radiology, oral health, and gastroenterology. Much of this work has focused on gaps in follow-up care, test scheduling and/or test completion (“open loops”). Prevalence rates of open loops, factors related to open loops, and innovations for closing loops have been a focus of the health outcome research.

Featured health outcomes research

 

View the full list of health outcome research

Education

The Center has conducted extensive research regarding primary care education at the undergraduate medical, resident/clerkship, and professional levels including the development of primary care curriculum for general medical education, models for engaging students in primary care, and the development and evaluation of programs to train students as innovators and members of interprofessional teams to address the current complex healthcare environment.

Featured education research

 

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Primary care leadership and team building

The Center has led numerous studies of leadership and team-building including qualitative analysis of high functioning teams, the relationship between team functioning and colorectal cancer screening, building strong teams in the Covid-19 era of virtual care, and the impact of team-based care practice transformation in primary care settings on care for chronically ill patients, and on primary care provider work satisfaction.

Featured Primary care leadership and team building research

 

View the full list of leadership and team-building research

Primary care transformation

Primary Care transformation, specifically from fee-for-service to value-based care payment structures, has been a focus of The Center’s research program. This area includes the qualitative study of data collected from leaders in population health, the impact of innovations such as care integration and the patient-centered medical home on health outcomes and patient experience, and the use of learning collaboratives to foster primary care transformation. Research on community health workers has investigated the impact of CHWs on patient health outcomes and on health care costs. The Center has served as a thought leader in this area by publishing commentary regarding future directions for primary care, and how primary care transformation can best improve health outcomes, patient experience, clinician wellbeing, and equity while reducing overall healthcare costs.

Featured primary care transformation research

 

View a full list of primary care transformation research

Primary Care Innovation

Primary care must innovate to improve health equity and meet the needs of all patients.

 

View a full list of primary care innovation research

Resiliency and burnout

Supporting health care worker resilience and finding solutions to burnout is a part of our mission. Center research includes the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic and potential pathways to promoting health care worker well-being.  

Featured resiliency and burnout publications

 

View a full list of resiliency and burnout research

Global Health

Around the world, primary care is essential to community health and well-being. Our research has focused on global primary care development and capacity building to support health systems in low- and middle-income countries.

Featured global health research

View a full list of global health research

Case studies

Case studies conducted by the Center offer an in-depth exploration of health care organizations and primary care practices as they negotiate financial and systemic constraints to address patient and community needs. Themes of customer-owner-physician relationships, patient agency, addressing community needs, access, behavioral health integration, health care worker resilience, primary care leadership, equity, and cost/value are also highlighted. These case studies have been widely used as teaching tools highlighting and illustrating challenges in primary care as well as innovation and primary care transformation.

Featured case studies
View a list of all Center for Primary Care case studies

Gun violence

Gun violence surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for American children. The clinical and economic impact of these firearm injuries on survivors and family members remains poorly understood. Our research hopes to bring more clarity around gun violence and inform policy.

 

Featured gun violence research