Primary Care Task Force Deliverable – Defining Primary Care

Deliverable #1: Defining Primary

Care Services, Codes, and Providers

Introduction

High-quality primary care encompasses an array of vital services that can meaningfully shape patient

outcomes and can lower overall health care expenditures while improving population health. The core

functions that characterize effective, person-centered primary care are first-contact care, continuity of care,

comprehensive care, and coordination of care. 1 These four pillars of primary care represent the foundation of

a high-functioning health care system, yet primary care remains both overburdened and undervalued in

Massachusetts and throughout the United States.

Data-driven policy changes, investments, and market reforms are needed to address these significant