Does the culture of a practice impact the quality of care a patient receives? Research shows it does. It is well known that engaged employees are more productive and have greater job satisfaction. Let's look at how culture can help an organization achieve higher quality care for their patients. According to Merriam-Webster, culture is "the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization". If a practice is solely focused on volume and revenue with no regard for the providers and team, the result is likely a negative culture with burnout and high turnover rates.

The Institute of Medicine defines primary care as “the provision of whole-person, integrated, accessible, and equitable health care by interprofessional teams that are accountable for addressing the majority of an individual's health and wellness needs across settings and through sustained relationships with patients, families, and communities”. To align insurance carriers, healthcare providers, and patients’ perception of quality healthcare, the first step is to build relationships among the three entities through more collaborative communication.

Merriam-Webster defines quality as the “degree of excellence”. So how do we define the degree of excellence in healthcare? What does quality healthcare look like? This answer can vary depending upon who is asked the question.

Over the past 40 years, we've seen a large shift in primary care and the United States healthcare system. Unfortunately, the changes have resulted in a very broken system, and we now more than ever see the need to correct the flaws.