Rebuilding the foundation: recommendations from the Summit to Revitalize Primary Care (Rev PC)

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Health Policy
• Primary Care Medicine

Background:

• * The United States (U.S.) National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) identified relationship-centered primary care as crucial for effective healthcare.
• * NASEM also noted primary care's decline due to chronic underinvestment, inadequate payment models, and workforce issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To generate expert consensus recommendations for revitalizing U.S. primary care.
• * To identify high-priority actions to address the decline and underinvestment in primary care.

Main Methods:

• * Convened the Summit to Revitalize Primary Care (Rev PC) with clinical scientists from the University of California Davis (UCD) School of Medicine.
• * A national Expert Committee, with diverse public and private sector perspectives, generated recommendations through closed working sessions.

Main Results:

• * Seven high-priority recommendations emerged for primary care revitalization.
• * Recommendations include increasing primary care spending, reforming payment models, supporting practice transformation, advancing health equity, advocating for workforce development, expanding research, and stakeholder collaboration.

Conclusions:

• * Implementing these recommendations can accelerate primary care revitalization and address systemic issues.
• * Sustained investment and strategic planning are essential for primary care to improve population health, advance health equity, and control healthcare costs.