Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · May 2023
ReviewThe Impact of Interpersonal Continuity of Primary Care on Health Care Costs and Use: A Critical Review.
Interpersonal continuity has been shown to play an essential role in primary care's salutary effects. Amid 2 decades of rapid evolution in the health care payment model, we sought to summarize the range of peer-reviewed literature relating continuity to health care costs and use, information critical to assessing the need for continuity measurement in value-based payment design. ⋯ Interpersonal continuity today remains significantly associated with lower health care costs and more appropriate use. Further research is needed to disaggregate these associations at the clinician, team, practice, and system levels, but continuity assessment is clearly important to designing value-based payment for primary care.
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Annals of family medicine · May 2023
Randomized Controlled TrialBaseline Characteristics of PATHWEIGH: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Study for Weight Management in Primary Care.
To describe the characteristics of patients and practice of clinicians during standard-of-care for weight management in a large, multiclinic health system before the implementation of PATHWEIGH, a pragmatic weight management intervention. ⋯ Of patients aged ≥18 years and with a BMI ≥25 kg/m2 in a large health system, 12% had a weight-prioritized visit during the baseline period. Despite most patients being commercially insured, referral to any weight-related service or prescription of antiobesity drug was uncommon. These results fortify the rationale for trying to improve weight management in primary care.