Excellent Primary Care - Pillar #4

Today, I’m excited to share the next pillar, one I’m particularly passionate about. It’s all about what happens when patients need us the most.

Pillar #4: Responsiveness

The best primary care isn't confined to occasional visits—it’s a constant presence in your life, ready to support you in unexpected, critical moments.

Similar to the 23:1 rule of fitness training (while the 1 hour of gym training is beneficial, it’s the other 23 hours that make the difference), it’s a little crazy to think that we can fully support patients with 15-minute visits every 3 months (if you’re doing the math, that’s 8,640:1!) - just to have them get lost in a phone tree or stuck at the bottom of a growing inbox when they need support.

Of course, emergency departments play a vital role, but I think we all want a future where patients don’t default to the ED because they had no one else to call.

Ex: The VA has run a nurse triage line for years that provides 24/7 access to counseling and support. When you pair this with tele-urgent care services and a well-functioning physical urgent care (like the incredible one I worked in at the San Francisco VA), patients get excellent care, at the right place, by people who know them.

Let’s architect systems where patients are supported every step of the way, not just in those scheduled 15 minutes.