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DiscussionSpecial ReportsA

The 10 Building Blocks of High-Performing Primary Care

Thomas Bodenheimer, Amireh Ghorob, Rachel Willard-Grace and Kevin Grumbach
The Annals of Family Medicine March 2014, 12 (2) 166-171; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1616
Thomas Bodenheimer
Center for Excellence in Primary Care, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
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  • For correspondence: TBodenheimer@fcm.ucsf.edu tbodie@earthlink.net
Amireh Ghorob
Center for Excellence in Primary Care, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
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Rachel Willard-Grace
Center for Excellence in Primary Care, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
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Kevin Grumbach
Center for Excellence in Primary Care, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
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Abstract

Our experiences studying exemplar primary care practices, and our work assisting other practices to become more patient centered, led to a formulation of the essential elements of primary care, which we call the 10 building blocks of high-performing primary care. The building blocks include 4 foundational elements—engaged leadership, data-driven improvement, empanelment, and team-based care—that assist the implementation of the other 6 building blocks—patient-team partnership, population management, continuity of care, prompt access to care, comprehensiveness and care coordination, and a template of the future. The building blocks, which represent a synthesis of the innovative thinking that is transforming primary care in the United States, are both a description of existing high-performing practices and a model for improvement.

  • primary health care
  • practice management
  • medical
  • physician’s practice patterns
  • Received for publication May 9, 2013.
  • Revision received August 22, 2013.
  • Accepted for publication September 12, 2013.
  • © 2014 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.
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The Annals of Family Medicine: 12 (2)
The Annals of Family Medicine: 12 (2)
Vol. 12, Issue 2
March/April 2014
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The 10 Building Blocks of High-Performing Primary Care
Thomas Bodenheimer, Amireh Ghorob, Rachel Willard-Grace, Kevin Grumbach
The Annals of Family Medicine Mar 2014, 12 (2) 166-171; DOI: 10.1370/afm.1616

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The 10 Building Blocks of High-Performing Primary Care
Thomas Bodenheimer, Amireh Ghorob, Rachel Willard-Grace, Kevin Grumbach
The Annals of Family Medicine Mar 2014, 12 (2) 166-171; DOI: 10.1370/afm.1616
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