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A high-functioning primary care system has been shown to lead to better patient outcomes, lower costs, and more equitable care, and is key to keeping patients well and out of hospitals and emergency departments. That’s why the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine asserted that “primary care is a common good, which makes the strength and quality of the country’s primary care services a public concern.” Many healthcare leaders have expressed worry about the health and sustainability of primary care in Massachusetts, especially in the wake of the pandemic which caused unprecedented disruptions across all health care settings.
MHQP is uniquely positioned to help advance the future of primary care through collective action. For example, we recently collaborated with the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) to release the first-ever dashboard of metrics to monitor the health of primary care in Massachusetts. We believe the pandemic has created a unique opportunity for innovative thinking and clear-headed vision to ensure the sustainability of primary care as the foundation of our healthcare system.
Here is a list of the posts on this site related to MHQP’s activities on the future of primary care:
Boston Globe Articles Address Future of Telehealth; Prominently Feature MHQP
(March 2023)
Boston Globe reporter Felice Freyer has published two important articles focused on the future of telehealth in Massachusetts, which prominently feature MHQP and its stakeholders.
The first article (“State’s largest insurer extends full telehealth coverage indefinitely” from February 19) spotlights Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ decision to continue paying
Winners of MHQP’s 2022 Patient Experience Awards Provide Best-In-Class Experiences Despite Growing Challenges for Primary Care
(February 2023)
Primary care practices are facing unprecedented challenges in the wake of the pandemic due to staffing shortages, inadequate reimbursement policies, changing patterns of well visits, practice consolidation, increased competition from new sources, and many other factors. Despite these challenges, the winners of the 2022 MHQP “Patient Experience Awards” found a
Massachusetts Can Finally Measure the Health of Primary Care
(An editorial published online by The Boston Globe on January 25, 2023, by
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), a nationally renowned institution of science, recently asserted that “primary care is a common
CHIA and MHQP Release First-Ever Dashboard to Monitor the Health of Primary Care
(January 2023)
A high-functioning primary care system has been shown to lead to better patient outcomes, lower costs, and more equitable care, and is key to keeping patients well and out of hospitals and emergency departments.
That’s why the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine recently asserted that “primary care is
Stepping Out of Silos to Tackle Disparities
(September 2022)
Nearly 30 years ago, a Boston Globe Spotlight article highlighted “the worst hospitals” in Massachusetts based on high mortality rates. In the wake of that article, well before the measurement of healthcare quality was widely practiced and accepted, a forward-thinking group of healthcare, business and community leaders
Evaluating Patient Experiences of Primary Care by Visit Mode and Visit Reason During the Pandemic
(September 2022)
MHQP’s Jim Courtemanche, Nathalie McIntosh, Raji Rajan and Barbra Rabson co-authored, along with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ Mark Friedberg, an important study investigating adult patient experiences of, and satisfaction with, in-person, video, and telephone visits in primary care during the COVID-19
MHQP to Produce State’s First-Ever Primary Care Dashboard for CHIA
(September 2022)
MHQP is pleased to announce that we have been selected by the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) to produce Massachusetts’ first-ever dashboard of metrics to monitor the health of primary care in the state.
Leaders in both the healthcare and policymaking arenas have become increasingly concerned about
Tackling Inequities in Pain Assessment and Management
(August 2022)
Historically marginalized communities are systematically undertreated for pain, and this issue disproportionately impacts Black women. While this fact is well established by research (1), we know very little about the specific barriers that Black women experience when they seek pain care.
To help identify opportunities to close this research gap
It’s Time to Better Understand and Address Disparities in Patient Experiences
By Barbra G. Rabson
(July 2022)
The pandemic has shown us that we are not doing enough to equally promote health for people of all races and ethnicities. Given that there are well-known and researched disparities across all aspects of care, it may not surprise you to learn that Black, Hispanic and Asian
MHQP Confirms Significant Drop-Off in Key Preventive Care Measures During the Pandemic
(May 2022) Alarming declines in cancer screening procedures, routine tests for patients with diabetes, and childhood immunizations recorded
Data released today by MHQP confirm what many providers and policymakers feared – that preventive care declined during the pandemic, especially for procedures that required patients to visit a clinical setting in person.