Core Attributes of Primary Care, Definitions, and Examples
| Attribute | Definition | Examples of AHRQ Resources to Guide Research |
|---|---|---|
| Person and family centeredness | Person and family centeredness entails caring for people in the context of their lived family, social, and community experiences. It refers to being “respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs and values.”3,6 | Chartbook on Person- and Family-Centered Care7 |
| Community centeredness | Primary care practices should play an integral role in improving and promoting the health of the communities they serve by engaging with community organizations with a shared mission. | Clinical-Community Relationships Measures Atlas8 |
| Primary care centeredness | Primary care is the foundation for all other health care. All individuals would have access to and receive comprehensive, longitudinal, and coordinated, high-quality primary care. | Redefining Primary Care for the 21st Century9 |
| Advancing health equity | Primary care has a critical role in eliminating pervasive, structural, and long-standing inequities in access, quality, and outcomes of care. | A Call to Action to Achieve Health Equity10 |
| Digital health solutions | Ongoing advancements in health information technology and the development of digital health solutions designed specifically to support primary care. | AHRQ’s Digital Solutions to Support Care Transitions Challenge11 |
| Aligning payment | Fundamental transformation of primary care is not possible without equally fundamental changes in the allocation of resources to primary care. | New Models of Primary Care Workforce and Financing12 |
| Workforce development | Primary care teams are designed to allow all team members to practice at the “top of their license,” and can continuously work to improve patient care, while reducing individual workloads and burnout. | Creating Patient-Centered Team-Based Primary Care13 |
AHRQ = Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.