This quarterly electronic newsletter, written expressly for primary care leaders, will bring innovations in primary care delivery and education directly to your inbox. Each issue will highlight a primary care program or intervention that we find particularly inspiring and intriguing.

As a complement to the feature, we have provided links to references and tools (see “Toolbox”), collected to help you understand and apply new ideas in your own practices. And, to keep you up to date on key policy issues and innovations, we have summarized recently published articles of interest (see “Pub Hub”). You are also invited to a forum where you can discuss and share knowledge with our growing Insight community.

Primary Care Insight is a reinvigoration of the Primary Care E-letter, first established in 2005 by the Center for Excellence in Primary Care (CEPC) at the University of California, San Francisco. It is now a collaboration of CEPC, The John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation, and Primary Care Progress. Links to several of our favorite previous e-letters are included here, and all past e-letters are available by clicking on "past issues" above.

We’re excited to bring Primary Care Insight to you and hope that you find it informative and engaging.

Welcome!
Tom Bodenheimer, MD, MPH
The Center for Excellence in Primary Care

Clemens Hong, MD, MPH
The John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation

Melissa Gillooly, MPP
Primary Care Progress

In this issue, Tom Bodenheimer, Editor of Primary Care Insight, shares his reflections on a visit to Clinica Family Health Services, in April of 2011. He richly describes an inspiring example of primary care practice and primary care transformation in a community health center serving a low-income, largely Latino population near Denver.

Since its inception 30 years ago in founder Alicia Sanchez’s kitchen, Clinica has grown to serve 40,000 patients at four sites. In 1998, Clinica began its never-ending improvement journey, joining the Health Disparities Collaborative sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Primary Health Care and led by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation. Clinica’s early work on improving chronic illness care for patients through this collaborative led to a redesign of its entire care model to become a patient-centered medical home. Clinica’s experience demonstrates many central features of a high functioning primary care practice, including: excellent continuity and access to care, teaming and organization of multidisciplinary staff so that each member functions at the top of their license, behavioral health integration, referral tracking and management, group visits, panel/population management, EMR implementation and the creation of complex workflows among many others. Clinica’s quality of care often exceeds national Medicaid performance — especially impressive given that Clinica’s data include the 50% of its patients who have no insurance. Clinica has solved many of the problems facing primary care clinics and practices, and continues to confront the challenges that still remain. For clinics and practices whose improvement journey began later than that of Clinica, Clinica has much to teach.

Click HERE to read the story.

Pub Hub comprises summaries of journal articles in/from the realms of primary care innovation, education, and health policy. For each issue of Primary Care Insight, reviewers comb 18 pre-selected journals from the previous quarter, and Editorial Board members contribute articles of interest, as well. You’ll find articles from numerous sources, including non-peer reviewed publications, which will keep you abreast of developments in these fields. If you want to recommend articles not included here, we encourage you to post them on our forum.

Click HERE for Pub Hub.

• A New York City Primary Care Innovation: UNITE HERE Health Center.  In an interview with Audrey Lum, RN, and Jenny Tsang, MD, of New York's UNITE HERE Health Center we learn about a team‐based primary care model that uses highly trained Medical Assistants in key roles.

• The Care Transitions Intervention.  This interview with Dr. Eric Coleman highlights the Care Transitions Intervention, a patient-centered coaching intervention designed to help coordinate care for patients and their families as they manage their transition from hospital to home or skilled nursing facilities.

• Interview with Dr. Allan Goroll.  This E-letter interview with Dr. Allan Goroll highlights a primary care reimbursement strategy proposed by Dr. Goroll and others.

• The Mini-Group Visit: An Interview with Dr. Devin Sawyer.  In this interview, Dr. Devin Sawyer details his practice’s experience with the mini-group visit, where patients are seen three at a time for twenty minutes each.

• The Safety Net Medical Home Initiative
• AAFP PCMH Website

Do you know of an innovative primary care practice or educational program for us to highlight on Primary Care Insight?  Maybe you don't have time to write it up but would love to share it with others?  Send us your recommendations HERE.  And please let us know what you think of Insight or how we can make it better!