A new report from the Commonwealth Fund analyzes the role of interdisciplinary healthcare teams in expanding access to primary care.
The report studied teams made up of pharmacists, social workers, nurses and nurse practitioners working within a primary care setting with the aim of improving care and lowering costs for patients with depression, disabilities, and other conditions that have traditionally been difficult to treat in primary care. The model was found to be successful, but the report concludes that additional support from federal and state policymakers will be needed in order to quickly implement this and similar models around the country.
