Health Reform and You: A Guide to Understanding Primary Care from The Commonwealth Fund
<p>The U.S. health system is changing, and people need clear explanations of how the changes will affect them. To help, The Commonwealth Fund has developed a series of short, jargon-free publications about some of the key transformations taking place now and over the next few years. They're supported with nonpartisan, reliable research, and geared toward health care providers, employers, and anyone else interested in gaining a better understanding of what reform really means. </p><p>The first in the series—<a href="/publications/publication/2013/jun/primary-care-our-first-line-defense">Primary Care: Our First Line of Defense</a>—is available now. Touching on some of the critical concepts in health care reform, the brief explains why primary care is so important to patients and also to the country’s bottom line. It looks at medical homes, a model of care in which a team of health professionals works together to ensure people get the right care, as well as ways we can change payments to doctors and hospitals to make sure care is appropriate and people are healthy and productive. Finally, it reviews how the health care reform law is designed to help strengthen primary care. </p>
<p>In the coming weeks, The Commonwealth Fund will be posting more briefs in <a href="/publications/publication/2013/jun/health-reform-you-new-publication-series">this series.</a> Make sure to share them with family, friends, and colleagues.</p>