The Article in Brief
Enhancing the Primary Care Team to Provide Redesigned Care: The Roles of Practice Facilitators and Care Managers
Erin Fries Taylor , and colleagues
Background Policy makers are focusing on redesigning primary care in the United States to achieve better patient experience, improved health, and reduced costs. This report examines the distinct and complementary roles of 2 potential members of the primary care team in redesign and practice improvement processes: practice facilitators, also known as practice coaches or quality improvement coaches, and care managers.
What This Study Found Practice facilitators play a vital systems-level role in coordinating practice quality improvement and redesign efforts, helping build capacity for activities that improve quality and safety and the implementation of evidence-based practices. Care managers, on the other hand, do the critical work of coordinating patient care and helping patients navigate the system, improving access and communicating across the care team.
Implications
- These 2 members of the primary care team work in a complementary fashion to help primary care practices deliver coordinated, accessible, comprehensive, and patient-centered care.