Abstract Submissions
The call for abstract proposals is now closed.

Submitters can expect to be notified of acceptance status on a rolling basis throughout the month of August. Should you have any questions about your submission in the meantime, please contact Katie Bradley at kbradley@texashealthinstitute.org.

Thank you for your interest in presenting at the TPCC Virtual Summit!

Primary care is the foundation of a strong and effective healthcare system. Systems and organizations built around a core primary care function can deliver higher quality, lower cost, and more equitable care. Abundant data shows that individuals in communities with a higher proportion of primary care practitioners are overall healthier and live longer.

The theme of the 2021 Texas Primary Care Consortium Summit is “Powering Primary Care: Leading the Change for the Health of Texans.” Proposed breakout tracks include:

Access to Health

Achieving optimal health is a challenge for millions of Texans. COVID-19, the continued lack of healthcare coverage expansion, and the impending end of 1115 waiver funding have placed enormous strains on an already weakened system and worsened the access gap of the under- and uninsured. Compounding this are chronic shortages and misdistribution of physicians. Rural Texas communities have been particularly hard hit by the effects of COVID-19. In order to improve the health of all Texans, we must learn about, and systematically address, the social determinants of health: conditions in which people are born, live, learn, work, and play. Access to healthy food, safe and affordable housing, reliable and affordable transportation, neighborhood safety, and access to healthcare are examples.

Care Planning, Coordination, and Collaboration

The individual and their family are at the center of care while the unique needs and circumstances of each person are reflected in the care planning process. The care plan is developed in concert with the patient, their family (based on the patient’s needs/desires), and the care team and is a valuable tool for helping identify gaps in care as well as guiding future care.

Care coordination synchronizes the delivery of a patient’s health care from multiple providers and specialists. The goals of coordinated care are to improve health outcomes by ensuring that care from various providers is not delivered in silos, and to help reduce health care costs by eliminating redundant tests and procedures.

Collaboration with specialists, hospitals, imaging, and laboratory services is an intentional process and essential to assuring that safe, effective, high value care is delivered. Systems for ensuring follow-up of testing and specialist recommendations are critical.

Sustainability and Payment Reform

The current system that rewards episodic care and transactional model of care must change to achieve the quadruple aim: to enhance patient experience, improve population health, reduce costs, and improve the work life of health care providers.

The traditional fee for service (FFS) structure is designed to focus on short-term needs, whereby the primary objective becomes managing and treating the symptoms rather than addressing the underlying cause to avoid a recurrence. Alternative payment models including prospective payment and capitation reward the person-centered, comprehensive primary care.

Questions? Please contact kbradley@texashealthinstitute.org for additional information.