Becker's Hospital Review

26 PHARMACY Hospitals embrace sprawling primary care: What to know By Mariah Taylor A growing emphasis to meet patients where they're at has led health systems and hospitals to take primary care out of its traditional setting. "We can't expect people to alter their lives to fit into our schedule. We need to alter our schedule to fit into their lives," MetroHealth President and CEO Christine Alexander-Rager, MD, told Becker's. "What worked five or 10 years ago doesn't always fit today's realities. By stepping back and reexamining how we're organized, we're creating a more patient-centered experience." Nationally, primary care physician supply is expected to meet 73% of demand by 2037; in rural areas, that figure drops to 68%, a Commonwealth Fund report published Nov. 17 found. Rural areas are feeling the burden of this gap. Around 92% of rural counties are federally designated as primary care health professional shortage areas, meaning they lack a sufficient number of providers relative to community needs. Overall, nearly 43 million people live in rural areas where there is an insufficient supply of primary care providers. Health systems have been working to meet the demand for care by opening more clinics, integrating more specialty services and offering more options for care. "Meeting our patients where they are isn't a tagline — it's how we design care," Craig Cheifetz, MD, president of Inova Primary Care Service Line, told Becker's. "We've built a system that adapts, innovates and responds to patients as individuals, not standardized assumptions." Here are some of the different places systems are taking primary care to meet patients. 1. Home-based primary care: Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Health has a home-based primary care program run by five nurse practitioners who oen add same- or next-day visits for patients. Home visits are conducted by nurse practitioners. ey also provide hospital discharge visits within two to four days of discharge, which has helped prevent ED readmissions among complex and vulnerable patients. In 2025, the program provided more than 3,500 home visits and over 75 hospital discharge home visits. e home-based primary care nurse practitioners performed over 300 virtual video visits and 382 Medicare annual wellness visits. 2. Primary care inside a hospital: Chicago-based Ascension Illinois is moving two primary care clinics into one of its hospitals. Labouré Clinic and Lakeview Internal Medicine Clinic will now be located on the 10th floor of Ascension St. Joseph- Chicago campus. e new space offers additional exam rooms, a renovated waiting area and will bring primary care closer to specialty services offered at the hospital. 3. Primary care in a train station: On April 29, Hackensack (N.J.) Meridian Health opened the nation's first health and wellness center alongside a major travel hub. Hackensack Meridian's Health & Wellness Center at Metropark is built alongside the second-busiest train station in New Jersey. It will keep extended hours so patients can schedule an appointment before or aer their daily commute. e center will offer advanced imaging, urgent care, primary care, surgical specialties, medical specialists, pharmacy, physical and occupational therapy, rehabilitation, phlebotomy and more. 4. Specialized primary care programs: Fairfax, Va.-based Inova Health created a portfolio of tailored services including virtual and hybrid appointments, walk-in same-day access clinics, aer- hour clinics, shared medical visits and concierge services for business executives. 5. Virtual primary care: Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health launched its virtual primary care program in late 2024 to address a shortage of appointments. Now, the model has become one of the health system's fastest-growing access points. Each month, 300 to 500 new patients join the program, many of whom did not have a primary care provider previously and present with significant unmet health needs. Telehealth is becoming an increasingly popular service option among systems, though Epic reported that use in primary care has leveled off at about 6% to 7% of patients using virtual options. e report, which looked at 411 million primary care visits between July 2022 and October 2025, found telehealth primary care was utilized most by patients ages 25-39, non- English speakers and those living in metropolitan areas. 6. 24-hour virtual care: e Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine system implemented a 24/7 virtual care model to manage aer- hour patients across 63 primary care practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. e model eliminates most on-call duties for physicians by routing aer-hours calls to a dedicated virtual team. As of January, the call volume for clinicians has dropped by at least 95%. 7. On-demand care: e New York City-based NYU Langone began providing on-demand primary care at two of its Manhattan locations in August 2024. e walk-in primary care clinics allow new and existing patients to receive care for a range of common health issues without an appointment. Between one-third and half of patients seen daily are new to the system and leave with a referral to another primary care specialty appointment within NYU Langone. System leaders said the clinics have helped meet the rising demand for care while cutting long wait times to schedule appointments. 8. Pharmacists inside primary care: Cleveland-based University Hospitals is growing a model that embeds pharmacists directly into primary care practices. Last year, more than 60 pharmacists worked out of primary care practices. is allows patients to meet directly with pharmacists to discuss their prescriptions aer their primary care visit. Prescriptions are delivered to patients' homes for free, with the pharmacist following up virtually within several days to ensure proper adherence. When medication costs are an issue, the pharmacy team supports patients with identifying lower-cost alternatives or dosing schedules. n

• Cover