Innovation

Revolutionizing the Practice of Primary Care

"Reality can be beaten with enough imagination"
-Anonymous

The Problem: Recent advances in medicine are allowing people to live healthier and longer lives. At the same time, however, we are faced with a more complex health care system - more people, seeking more complicated care, with more treatment options, often within the confined setting of the traditional visit to the doctor's office. Physicians, staff members, patients and families all feel the strain. Patients wait longer to be seen. Doctors and their staff are buried in paperwork. Coordination of care is difficult or even non-existent. Practices struggle to understand and adapt to an increasingly diverse patient population, with the challenges of language, cultural and economic barriers. Insurance is cumbersome for all involved, and often encourages unnecessary appointments, while not rewarding shared decision-making or preventive care. The opportunities for poor outcomes or even error abound, and the time and resources needed to develop ideal "healing relationships" are eroding.

The Solution: The John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation is dedicated to redesigning health care at the front lines - the primary care clinician-patient relationship - to provide the best possible care to patients. Today, we have several promising initiatives underway:

Pre-visit Preparation Packets

Improving Patient and Family Participation in Decision-Making In Primary Care

Designing the Ambulatory Practice of the Future
* APF- Tool Kit
* APF- IDEO Visioning Booklet