We know stronger primary care improves outcomes and lowers costs, but lived experience helps illuminate where and how meaningful improvements should happen.
Primary care is the foundation of the state’s healthcare system. It provides access to essential preventive services, helps manage chronic conditions, and detects health issues early when they are easier to treat. By ensuring the right care at the right time and in the right place, primary care helps people lead healthier lives, reduces overall healthcare costs, and improves health outcomes for all Texans.
Communities with stronger primary care systems experience:
Every additional dollar invested in primary care is associated with approximately $13 in savings elsewhere in the healthcare system. Investing in primary care improves health outcomes and strengthens system sustainability.
Yet across Texas, access remains uneven. More than 7 million Texans, roughly one in five, live in a Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Area. In many rural communities, residents must travel over an hour each way to see a provider, turning routine preventive care into a significant logistical and financial burden.
This reality catalyzed the Texas Primary Care Consortium’s Primary Care Listening Sessions, a statewide effort to engage Texans who deliver, support, and rely on primary care to understand what is working, and what must improve. Beginning late last year, these sessions were guided by a simple yet powerful, community-rooted question: What does a primary care system where every Texan thrives look like?
We know stronger primary care improves outcomes and lowers costs, but lived experience helps illuminate where and how meaningful improvements should happen.
Our team traveled statewide, engaging communities large and small:
From frontier communities to growing regional hubs, patients and clinicians alike shared not only the barriers they face, but also the opportunities they see for care that is more local, more preventive, and more connected to community life.
In the coming weeks, we will synthesize these insights into a primary care report, paired with a publicly accessible, interactive health dashboard featuring 70+ indicators across all 254 Texas counties, spanning primary care, oral health, and behavioral health. Together, creating a new lens to support local and statewide decision makers advancing the health of our state.
Our approach, rooted in partnership with communities and aligned with data, is intentional. When we center community leaders alongside dedicated primary care professionals committed to high-quality care, we elevate both lived experience and practical solutions. By working together, we can create a primary care system that benefits everyone. Strong primary care means healthier communities, lower healthcare costs, and a brighter future for Texas.
The Texas Primary Care Consortium is a statewide collaborative between Texas Health Institute and the Texas Medical Home Initiative. THI provides the financial and administrative support for the TPCC team and work. To learn more about THI, please visit texashealthinstitute.org.
.png){kind=icon}
