A recent PwC analysis found primary care teams are missing out on millions through poor team design.
Savings could total $1.2 million for every 10,000 patients given roughly 800 are patients with complex, chronic diseases, according to PwC's Health Research Institute. The analysis is based on a survey of 1,500 American primary care physicians, specialists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists, in addition to a survey of 1,750 consumers.
To realize these savings, primary care teams should build what PwC's HRI calls a primary care "dream team" — a team with a core, an extended care team and a community connector team.
The core team includes primary care physicians, geriatricians, NPs or PAs, licensed practical nurses and medical assistants. The extended care team would include a clinical pharmacist, nutritionist, mental health specialist and a physical or occupational therapist. The community connector team has social workers, care navigators, community paramedics and community health workers. Sicker patients will be more likely to have broad interactions across all the teams, while healthier populations' needs will be less broadly distributed.
In this kind of broad team environment, savings are primarily realized through reduced admissions and emergency room visits, according to PwC. To find out more, read the full analysis here.
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