PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Chen, Melinda A.
AU  - Rubinson, Claude
AU  - O’Donnell, Eloise M.
AU  - Li, Jing
AU  - Bodenheimer, Thomas
AU  - Casalino, Lawrence P.
TI  - High-Performing Teamlets in Primary Care: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2023.230105R1
DP  - 2024 Jan 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 105--111
VI  - 37
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/37/1/105.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/37/1/105.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2024 Jan 01; 37
AB  - Purpose: In efforts to improve patient care, collaborative approaches to care have been highlighted. The teamlet model is one such approach, in which a primary care clinician works consistently with the same clinical staff member. The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of high-performing primary care teamlets, defined as teamlets with low rates of ambulatory care sensitive emergency department (ACSED) visits and ambulatory care sensitive hospital admissions (ACSAs).Methods: Twenty-six individual qualitative interviews were performed with physicians and their teamlet staff member across 13 teamlets. Potentially important characteristics related to high-performing primary care teamlets were identified, calibrated, and analyzed using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA).Results: Key characteristics identified by the QCA that were often present in teamlets with low rates of ACSED visits and, to a lesser extent, ACSAs were staff proactiveness in anticipating physician needs and physician-reported trust in their staff member.Conclusion: This study suggests that physician trust in their staff and proactiveness of staff in anticipating physician needs are important in promoting high-performing teamlets in primary care. Additional studies are indicated to further explore the relationship between these characteristics and high-performing teamlets, and to identify other characteristics that may be important.