Primary Care Investment Guide Recommends Integrating Clinical Pharmacy in Advanced Primary Care
The Primary Care Collaborative (PCC) hosted a webinar in December 2025 highlighting the release of the Primary Care Investment Guide. Developed by the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care—with support from the California Health Care Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund—the guide demonstrates why greater and sustained investment in advanced primary care is essential to improving health outcomes.
The guide breaks down how advanced primary care services such as clinical pharmacy services, behavioral health integration, care management, population health and social needs interventions lead to better outcomes for patients. It brings together insights from more than 40 stakeholder interviews, case studies, spending analyses, and literature reviews, providing a better understanding of which primary care functions create the greatest value. It also includes a closer look at 5 states that are leading in the primary care investment space.
The guide states that the following 6 team-based services improve health outcomes, reduce costs, enhance patient experience, support workforce well-being, and advance equity:
- Embedded Clinical Pharmacists to optimize medication management and chronic disease control
- Behavioral Health Integration, including the Primary Care Behavioral Health model and the Collaborative Care Model
- Care Management for patients with complex medical or social needs
- Population Health Programs that use data to close care gaps and proactively manage chronic disease
- Social Determinants of Health and Disparities Initiatives, including systematic screening and community health worker support
- eConsults, enabling rapid, specialist input and reducing avoidable referrals
Of these 6 team-based services, only clinical pharmacy services showed a strong level evidence of impact from the literature.
Table 1. Impact of Advanced Primary Care Services
Courtesy of Amie Alley Pollack at Harvard Medical School
The Investment Guide details how policymakers, employers, provider organization leadership, practices and health plans can holistically assess, plan and prioritize investments, in particular the integration of clinical pharmacy services, in team-based advanced primary care services.
Click here to access the executive summary and recommendations.
Click here to access the full report.