As Hope Street Group builds momentum on “Policy 2.0: Using Open Innovation to Reinvent Primary Care” we knew we could not miss out on the launch of the new issue of Health Affairs entitled “Reinventing Primary Care”.  Not only does the title mirror the focus of our open collaboration, the new issue also proved to contain a wealth of scholarly discussion and practical policy prescriptions for the future of primary care.

Kathleen Sebelius (Health and Human Services Secretary) kicked off the launch with a keynote address setting out the Administration’s funding provisions impacting on primary care, both through the Recovery Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  She also acknowledged the tremendous challenges ahead in implementing the legislation, including the many places where it says, “The Secretary shall…”

The launch provided an overview of new models of primary care delivery, focusing in particular on patient centered medical homes and retail clinics.  It also highlighted the importance of interprofessional teams in primary care, looking at the way teams work (or don’t work) in primary care settings, and the roles of nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists in primary care practice teams.  The event concluded with a series of practice profiles, covering: Greenhouse Internists, the Group Health Cooperative, QuadMed, the implementation of electronic referrals to specialists, and the role of Medical Assistants in chronic disease management.

I attended the event with Monique Nadeau (Executive Director, Hope Street Group) and was impressed by the quality and breadth of the information covered and the interesting dialogue that occurred between panel members and the audience.  I would be interested in the reactions of anyone else who attended or who has had an opportunity to look at the new Health Affairs issue.