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The Article in Brief
Roles and Functions of Community Health Workers in Primary Care
Andrea L. Hartzler , and colleagues
Background Community health workers have the potential to enhance primary care access and quality, but they remain underutilized.
What This Study Found An analysis of existing research finds that community health worker functions include care coordination, health coaching, social support, health assessment, resource linking, case management, medication management, remote care, follow-up, administration, targeted health education, and health literacy support. A cost-effective workforce that includes primary care community health workers could help overburdened care teams.
Implications
- The authors suggest that decisions about how to best utilize community health workers be based on needs of patients and care teams, clinical workflow, and financial viability.