Coordinating care across diseases, settings, and clinicians: a key role for the generalist in practice.
This review examines the literature on coordination of care and its effectiveness to better understand how a generalist operates in an increasingly complex health care delivery system. The authors present six key recommendations. These include the need for greater evidence to substantiate the value of care coordination in improving health outcomes; a belief that a generalist’s practice represents an effective hub for coordinating care in most patients; and that improved communication and coordination among generalists, specialists, patients, and their family members must be fostered. The authors advocate for greater emphasis on teamwork, increased education about effective communication and collaboration skills, and wider adoption and application of medical informatics.