# Primary Care * **Definition:** The first point of contact for individuals seeking healthcare services, usually provided by a general practitioner, family physician, or internist, serving as the usual source of healthcare services and ongoing health management. * **Taxonomy:** Specialties / Primary Care ## News * Selected news on the topic of **Primary Care**, for healthcare technology leaders * 24.8K news items are in the system for this topic * Posts have been filtered for tech-related keywords | Date | Title | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | 5/23/2025 | [**Leveraging Primary Care is a Winning Strategy for Behavioral Health Services**](https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/cmo/leveraging-primary-care-winning-strategy-behavioral-health-services) | [[HealthLeaders Media]] | | 5/12/2025 | [**Mass General Brigham to invest $400M in primary care**](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/care-coordination/mass-general-brigham-to-invest-400m-in-primary-care/) | [[Beckers Hospital Review]] | | 5/8/2025 | [**Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Launches “CloseKnit” Virtual-First Primary Care Option**](https://hitconsultant.net/2025/05/08/blue-cross-blue-shield-of-massachusetts-launches-closeknit-virtual-first-primary-care-option/) | [[HIT Consultant]] | | 5/1/2025 | [**California's Primary Care Shortage Persists Despite Ambitious Moves To Close Gap**](https://www.physiciansweekly.com/californias-primary-care-shortage-persists-despite-ambitious-moves-to-close-gap/) | [[Physicians Weekly]] | | 4/22/2025 | [**Yosi Health Joins Elation Health's Partner Hub to Bolster Primary Care Efficiency**](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yosi-health-joins-elation-healths-partner-hub-to-bolster-primary-care-efficiency-302434253.html) | [[PR Newswire]] | | 4/22/2025 | [**The Top 25 Healthcare AI Companies of 2025**](https://thehealthcaretechnologyreport.com/the-top-25-healthcare-ai-companies-of-2025/) | [[Healthcare Technology Report]] | | 3/3/2025 | [**Sugar Land Direct Primary Care Doctor, Dr. Adelola Ashaye, Unveils New Comprehensive Website for InTouch Primary Care**](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sugar-land-direct-primary-care-doctor-dr-adelola-ashaye-unveils-new-comprehensive-website-for-intouch-primary-care-302390075.html) | [[PR Newswire]] | | 2/23/2025 | [**Fewer clinicians entering primary care, data shows - Healthcare Finance News**](https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/fewer-clinicians-entering-primary-care-data-shows) | [[Healthcare Finance]] | | 2/19/2025 | [**Lumeris Introduces Tom™, an AI-Powered Breakthrough to Transform Primary Care**](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lumeris-introduces-tom-an-ai-powered-breakthrough-to-transform-primary-care-302379395.html) | [[PR Newswire]] | | 2/19/2025 | [**CenterWell Poised for Further Primary Care Expansion in 2025 - Yahoo Finance**](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/centerwell-poised-further-primary-care-140000395.html) | [[Yahoo Finance]] | | 2/2/2025 | [**Direct primary care cuts out insurance companies. Could it gain traction under Trump?**](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/direct-primary-care-cuts-out-insurance-companies-could-it-gain-traction-under-trump/) | [[Seattle Times]] | | 12/16/2024 | [**A Value-Based Primary Care Model That Doubles Primary Care Investment - Health Affairs**](https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20241212.213721) | [[Health Affairs]] | | 12/16/2024 | [**A Value-Based Primary Care Model That Doubles Primary Care Investment**](https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/value-based-primary-care-model-doubles-primary-care-investment) | [[Health Affairs]] | | 12/12/2024 | [**CVS is the latest retailer to offer primary care in Houston. Can it succeed after others stumbled?**](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/health/article/cvs-health-primary-care-houston-19971488.php) | [[Houston Chronicle]] | | 12/5/2024 | [**Primary care market will see major shifts by 2030 as payers, nontraditional providers gain ground**](https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/primary-care-market-will-see-major-shifts-2030-payers-nontraditional-providers-gain) | [[FierceHealthcare]] | | 11/25/2024 | [**California sets 15arget for primary care spending over next decade**](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-11-california-primary-decade.html) | [[MedicalXpress]] | | 11/21/2024 | [**CA Sets 15arget for Primary Care Spending Over Next Decade - HealthLeaders Media**](https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/cfo/ca-sets-15-target-primary-care-spending-over-next-decade) | [[HealthLeaders Media]] | | 11/12/2024 | [**An Open Letter to the Next Administration Regarding Primary Care**](https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/112862) | [[Medpage Today]] | | 10/9/2024 | [**AHRQ Intensifies its Efforts to Strengthen Primary Care**](https://www.ahrq.gov/news/blog/ahrqviews/strengthen-primary-care.html) | [[AHRQ]] | | 10/8/2024 | [**Does Higher Spending On Primary Care Lead To Lower Total Health Care Spending?**](https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/does-higher-spending-primary-care-lead-lower-total-health-care-spending) | [[Health Affairs]] | | 9/9/2024 | [**Virtual primary care 101: Usage, benefits and more - TechTarget**](https://www.techtarget.com/virtualhealthcare/feature/Virtual-primary-care-101-Usage-benefits-and-more) | techtarget.com | | 9/9/2024 | [**Researchers: For-Profits Have Destabilized the Primary Care Market - Healthcare Innovation**](https://www.hcinnovationgroup.com/policy-value-based-care/news/55138638/researchers-for-profits-have-destabilized-the-primary-care-market) | [[Healthcare Innovation]] | | 9/5/2024 | [**The Failing Experiment Of Primary Care As A For-Profit Enterprise**](https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/failing-experiment-primary-care-profit-enterprise) | [[Health Affairs]] | | 9/4/2024 | [**New Study from Humana Healthcare Research and Harvard University Reveals Better Access to Primary Care for Seniors Receiving Care from Senior-Focused Primary Care Organizations**](http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240904301644/en/New-Study-from-Humana-Healthcare-Research-and-Harvard-University-Reveals-Better-Access-to-Primary-Care-for-Seniors-Receiving-Care-from-Senior-Focused-Primary-Care-Organizations/?feedref=JjAwJuNHiystnCoBq_hl-RLXHJgazfQJNuOVHefdHP-D8R-QU5o2AvY8bhI9uvWSD8DYIYv4TIC1g1u0AKcacnnViVjtb72bOP4-4nHK5ieT3WxPE8m_kWI77F87CseT) | [[Business Wire]] | | 7/24/2024 | [**Global Primary Care Physicians Market Overview And Statistics For 2024-2033 - EIN News**](https://tech.einnews.com/amp/pr_news/730000751/global-primary-care-physicians-market-overview-and-statistics-for-2024-2033) | tech.einnews.com | ## Specialty Overview (Some LLM-derived content — please confirm with above primary sources) ### Key Players - **Primary Care Collaborative (PCC)**: An organization advocating for strengthening primary care in the U.S. through policy and best practices. - **InTouch Primary Care**: A direct primary care provider emphasizing personalized healthcare and transparency through a newly designed website. - **Premise Health**: Offers an advanced primary care model integrating various health services, resulting in improved health outcomes and reduced costs. - **TytoCare**: Provides home smart clinic devices to enhance access to virtual primary care. - **CVS Health**: A major healthcare provider expanding into primary care services through its MinuteClinic brand. - **Mass General Brigham**: Investing significantly to enhance primary care services and address physician shortages. - **Bluebird Kids Health**: A pediatric primary care provider focused on value-based care, aiming to improve access and outcomes for underserved communities. - **Tampa General Hospital**: A healthcare provider integrating mental health services into primary care settings. - **Sentara Health**: Implementing a team-based primary care model to increase access to healthcare services. - **Hopscotch Primary Care**: Focuses on providing high-quality care to rural communities, recently securing funding to support its advanced primary care model. - **National Institutes of Health (NIH)**: Launching the CARE for Health initiative to integrate clinical research with community-based primary care. - **HealthTap**: A virtual care provider that offers same-day appointments and has partnered with CHM to enhance access to primary care. - **EmsanaCare**: A company co-founded by PBGH that facilitates direct contracts with primary care and specialty providers. - **CMS**: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is proposing new payment models to enhance primary care services and health equity. - **AANP**: The American Association of Nurse Practitioners, which emphasizes the role of nurse practitioners in primary care. - **Sumana Reddy**: A primary care physician facing challenges in an independent practice due to competition and provider shortages. - **Harbor Health**: A startup providing direct primary care options, aiming to redesign healthcare relationships. - **Centivo**: A healthcare company that launched Centivo Care, a virtual primary care practice integrated into its health plans. ### Partnerships and Collaborations - **Praxis Health and Regence BlueCross BlueShield**: Launching new clinics to enhance access to primary care through a patient-centered approach. - **Southeast Primary Care Partners and Restore Health & Wellness**: Expanding patient-centered healthcare services in Tennessee. - **NIH's CARE for Health Program**: Establishing partnerships with primary care facilities in underserved communities to conduct relevant health research. - **Hackensack Meridian Health and K Health**: Collaborating to introduce a 24/7 virtual primary care service to enhance patient access. - **Bain & Company**: Consultants predicting market shifts in primary care, highlighting the rise of nontraditional providers. - **Christian Healthcare Ministries and HealthTap**: This collaboration provides comprehensive virtual care services to CHM members, improving access to primary care. - **TytoCare and Frontier Health**: Partnered to provide TytoCare devices to enhance access to virtual primary care. - **Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH)**: Launching an Advanced Primary Care-driven healthcare network in the Puget Sound region to provide high-quality primary care and specialty referrals. - **Centivo and Premise Health**: They are launching a primary care-focused health plan to provide better access to primary care for employers. - **CenterWell and Walmart**: Opening senior-focused primary care centers at Walmart locations to enhance access to healthcare for seniors. - **Sentara Health and Virtua Health**: Integrating behavioral health professionals into primary care practices to improve access to mental health services. - **Commure and HealthTap**: Launching a unified healthcare solution to enhance virtual primary care and after-hours coverage. - **HealthTap and Aeroflow Healthcare**: Collaboration to connect patients without primary care providers to licensed physicians for health consultations. - **CirrusMD and Aligned Marketplace**: This partnership aims to simplify access to primary care for self-insured employers through virtual care solutions. - **UTHealth Houston and Texas primary care centers**: Collaborating on Project CASCADE to improve outcomes for cancer survivors. - **Tampa General Hospital and evolvedMD**: Collaboration to integrate licensed mental health providers into primary care locations. - **Northwestern Medicine, West Health, and Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute**: Collaborating to improve access to mental health services within primary care settings through an $8.6 million initiative. - **Sutter Health and Concert Health**: This partnership aims to integrate behavioral health into primary care settings, addressing mental health provider shortages. - **PBGH and Employers**: Partnerships with major employers like Boeing and eBay to provide comprehensive primary care services. - **Netsmart and Epic Systems**: Collaborating to launch a closed-loop data exchange referral system to enhance interoperability in primary care. ### Innovations, Trends, and Initiatives - **Direct Primary Care Model**: Growing popularity as physicians seek alternatives to traditional healthcare systems, allowing for personalized care. - **Advanced Primary Care Network**: PBGH's initiative to provide whole-person care through high-quality primary care and specialty referrals. - **Direct Primary Care**: A model where clinics charge a monthly fee for unlimited access to healthcare services, gaining popularity as an alternative to traditional insurance. - **In-Home Primary Care**: Emerging models like 'Housepitalist' aim to provide care in patients' homes, addressing access issues but facing challenges in scaling. - **Direct Primary Care Models**: These clinics offer easier access to doctors for a monthly fee, potentially increasing affordability for uninsured patients. - **Team-Based Care Models**: Sentara Health's new model aims to increase primary care capacity through collaboration between physicians and advanced practice providers. - **CARE for Health**: A national primary care research network launched by NIH to improve access to clinical research. - **Virtual-First Care Models**: Blue Cross's 'CloseKnit' initiative aims to provide accessible primary care through virtual and in-person options. - **Home-Based Primary Care**: BrightSpring's focus on expanding home-based primary care to improve patient outcomes and economic opportunities. - **PC Flex Model**: A CMS initiative to promote health equity and improve outcomes for underserved populations by integrating primary care and behavioral health. - **Advanced Primary Care Management (APCM)**: A proposed CMS model to enhance health equity by adjusting payments based on patient complexity. - **Primary Medical Technicians (PMTs)**: Proposed role to alleviate primary care shortages by training individuals to assist primary care physicians. - **Telehealth Growth**: The increasing popularity of telehealth for primary care is noted, with high patient satisfaction and improved access. - **AI in Primary Care**: K Health's AI co-pilot streamlines primary care visits, enhancing efficiency and patient engagement. - **Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)**: Integrating behavioral health into primary care to reduce suicide risk and improve mental health outcomes. - **Task Force in Massachusetts**: A 25-member task force is established to address primary care spending and improve access. - **Value-Based Care Models**: Efforts to transition from fee-for-service to value-based payment systems in primary care are ongoing, with various states and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services introducing new models. ### Challenges and Concerns - **Underinvestment in Primary Care**: Despite its importance, primary care receives less than 6% of total U.S. healthcare spending. - **Low Reimbursement Rates**: Primary care is underfunded, with less than 5% of total healthcare expenditures allocated to primary care, affecting provider income. - **Primary Care Shortage**: A significant shortage of primary care physicians projected to worsen, impacting healthcare access. - **Access to Care**: Millions of Americans lack access to primary care, with ongoing challenges in healthcare delivery and systemic obstacles. - **Financial Challenges in Primary Care**: Retailers and other nontraditional players are retracting investments in primary care due to profitability issues, impacting the overall market. - **Healthcare Inequities**: Concerns about disparities in access to quality primary care, particularly for vulnerable populations. - **Access Issues**: Many patients struggle to find primary care providers, leading to increased reliance on emergency services. - **Provider Shortages**: The primary care workforce is shrinking, leading to longer wait times and rushed visits, exacerbating the crisis in primary care delivery. - **Attracting Graduates to Primary Care**: Challenges in drawing medical graduates to primary care due to financial incentives favoring specialties. - **Burnout Among Primary Care Providers**: High workloads and lack of recognition contribute to burnout, prompting calls for better support and investment in primary care. - **Access Crisis**: The primary care model is experiencing an access crisis due to increasing demand and a shortage of providers, necessitating innovative solutions. - **Shortage of Primary Care Providers**: A significant shortage of primary care doctors is projected, with many residency slots going unfilled. - **Corporate Ownership of Primary Care**: Over 48% of U.S. physician practices are now owned by hospitals or corporate entities, raising concerns about care quality. - **Access Disparities**: Over 100 million Americans lack access to primary care, with significant disparities in underserved areas. - **Corporate Ownership Impact**: Concerns about rising costs and the implications of corporate ownership in primary care. ## Related Topics [[Clinical Care]]; [[Patient Care]]