Fact Sheet
Research on the provision of primary care, including the systems and policies that affect practice.
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Vision / Activities /
Extramural Research Initiatives
/ Intramural Research Activities
The Center for Primary Care Research (CPCR) defines primary care as the provision of integrated, high-quality, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for:
- Addressing a full range of personal health and health care needs.
- Developing a sustained partnership with patients.
- Practicing in the context of family and community.
- Working to minimize disparities across population subgroups.1
Designated by Congress to "serve as the
principal source of funding for primary
care practice research in the
Department of Health and Human
Services,"2 CPCR provides expertise
and national leadership on issues
related to primary care.
1 Adapted from the definition developed by a
committee of the Institute of Medicine and published
in Primary Care: America's Health in a New Era,
National Academy Press, 1996.
2 Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999,
amendment to Title IX of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 299 et seq.)
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CPCR's vision is to support and
conduct research that will improve the
access, effectiveness, and quality of
primary health care services throughout
the United States. CPCR seeks to be
known nationally as a major source of
information on primary care practice
and to be recognized internationally for
the excellence of the research it
supports and conducts. This vision
includes a commitment:
- To building
capacity within the primary care
research community.
- To forming
productive, sustained partnerships with
organizations that share the goal of
improved primary care services.
These
include both private and professional
groups and other government agencies.
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The Center supports extramural and
intramural research that addresses a
wide range of issues related to primary
care practice and policy, including:
- The quality, costs, and outcomes of primary
care.
- Patient-provider communication.
- Generalist-specialist issues.
- Workforce issues.
- Access to care, including
disparities in care.
CPCR's activities are
enriched and advanced through
ongoing collaborations with several
national professional organizations of
primary care clinicians, as well as with
other Federal, private-sector, and non-profit
organizations that share the
Center's interests.
CPCR also serves as
AHRQ's coordinating center for
research related to medical informatics,
the health and health care of low-income
populations and those residing
in rural and urban/inner city areas,
end-of life care, and clinical
preparedness for bioterrorism.
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Extramural Research Initiatives
CPCR houses a considerable body of
investigator-initiated research on
primary care-related topics. CPCR
project officers are frequently consulted
by primary investigators throughout the
grant process, beginning with reviews of
initial concept papers prior to grant
submission. In addition, the Center also
develops and coordinates sponsored
research programs. Recent examples
include:
- Primary Care Practice-Based
Research Networks (PBRNs).
Specific groups of ambulatory
practices devoted principally to the
care of patients collaborate with
academic researchers in order to
investigate questions related to
community-based primary care
practice. AHRQ funding currently
supports infrastructure development
and research capacity building in 18
networks involving over 5,000
primary care clinicians who care for
more than 6 million patients. These
networks collect and analyze data
related to the full range of primary
care, including the health care of
minority and underserved
populations, and the translation of
new research findings into health
care practice.
- Clinical Informatics to Promote
Patient Safety (CLIPS). By funding
the development and testing of
information technology tools that
can be used to reduce the risk of
medical errors and improve quality
of care, this program ensures a
major focus on the role of
informatics in improving clinical
decisionmaking, reducing errors,
and advancing patient safety.
Projects also address barriers to
acceptance and adoption of health
information technology and issues
of patient confidentiality.
- Effect of Health Care Working
Conditions on Quality of Care.
Critical to improving health care
delivery is identifying,
characterizing, and directly
measuring the effect of the health
care work environment on the safety
and quality of care provided by
health care workers. Grants funded
under this program test innovative
approaches to working conditions
that have been effective in
improving the quality of a product
or service in industries other than
health care.
- Clinical Preparedness for
Bioterrorism. This initiative focuses
on helping clinicians respond to
bioterrorism through effective
training methods, decision support
technologies, and effective on-line
products, and by providing state and
local policymakers with tools for
assessing and strengthening health
care system capacity in their
jurisdictions. Projects funded under
this initiative also help the health
care system respond to bioterrorism
incidents by providing measures to
assess hospital preparedness and
response, building decision support
models for information systems, and
developing effective detection and
surveillance systems.
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Researchers within CPCR explore a
wide range of issues related to the
delivery of primary care, its costs,
quality, and outcomes using secondary
data sources. One major area of
research focuses on disparities in access
to, use of, and quality of care for
vulnerable populations, including
disparities by race/ethnicity, geographic
location, type of health insurance, and
accessibility of willing providers. Other
areas of research include provider
practice styles and the impact of
primary care on the outcomes of
patients with common diseases and
conditions.
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Internet Citation:
Primary Care: Where Research and Practice Meet. Fact Sheet. AHRQ Publication No. 02-P015, February 2002. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/about/cpcr/practice.htm
540 Gaither Road Rockville, MD 20850 