Examining team creativity in primary care

Primary care teams are essential to high-quality patient-centered care but face persistent challenges. In other industries, team creativity is well-studied and is gaining traction in health care, particularly in primary care, where it may foster innovation and improvement.

The aim of this study was to adapt and refine the concept of team creativity for primary care, using management literature to develop a context-specific framework.

A three-stage empirical design was used. First, team creativity dimensions were identified through a review and thematic analysis of management literature. Second, a panel of 15 primary care experts adapted these dimensions for primary care. Third, a survey of 648 primary care team members in a large health system was followed by exploratory factor analysis to identify core dimensions.

Five dimensions of primary care team creativity emerged: team orientation to creativity, team creative processes, job-required creativity, team creative outputs, and leveraging team creativity.

Team creativity can be conceptualized and measured in primary care.

Primary care teams can apply these five dimensions to generate creative ideas in daily work. Managers can support this by allocating resources, implementing supportive practices, and recognizing creative contributions.