This podcast episode features an interview with Russell Phillips, Amie Pollack, and Dru Ricci from the Center for Primary Care at Harvard Medical School and authors of the Primary Care Investment Guide, with special guest, Todd Sorensen from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. The Primary Care Investment Guide advocates for the integration of clinical pharmacists into primary care teams. The authors explain that their research used a mixed-methods approach, interviewing healthcare leaders from five states and conducting literature reviews, to identify sustainable strategies in primary care settings that enhance patient outcomes and reduce costs. Their findings highlight that clinical pharmacists provide a significant return on investment by managing chronic diseases, optimizing medications, improving medication access, and decreasing hospitalizations. The discussion emphasizes that successful integration can be facilitated by payment reform, moving away from fee-for-service models toward capitated payments and other alternative payment models that support optimal care delivery by primary care teams. Ultimately, the Guide provides a strategic framework for healthcare leaders and policymakers to justify and implement the provision of high-value services in primary care settings.

Funding for the Primary Care Investment Guide was provided by The Commonwealth Fund and the California Health Care Foundation. You can download the Primary Care Investment Guide here: https://thepcc.org/reports/2025-primary-care-investment-guide/