Implementation of a Physician-Patient Attachment Initiative in Alberta

Attachment to a primary care physician (PCP) is a foundational component of the Patient's Medical Home. Yet how can attachment exist in a system that does not limit where patients seek care? This article describes a top-down approach with the ideologies of a bottom-up collaborative to address attachment within an Alberta primary care network. The steps taken to reduce the number of patients listed on multiple PCP panels from 27% to 4% will be described. Learnings from this initiative suggest that direct involvement with providers, coupled with engaged physician leadership, can create a local system of information delivery that supports the attachment of patients to their most responsible PCP.