Cleveland Clinic has introduced a new primary care model in three of its Florida markets to improve access to services and ease administrative burdens for clinicians.
The clinical access team model, which pairs physicians with advanced practice providers, has gone live in three of the system's Florida markets since August 2024. The model was established to provide timely access to care for patients with acute needs, according to a Jan. 22 news release.
Unlike traditional primary care teams, CAT physicians and APPs do not manage an assigned patient panel. Instead, the model is designed to be a flexible extension of care, bridging gaps for patients who may otherwise face delays in accessing services. For example, CAT physicians prioritize follow-up visits for recently discharged patients who do not already have an established primary care provider or who are unable to see their usual physician within the recommended timeframe.
The model is also contributing to shorter wait times for new patients to see a Cleveland Clinic family medicine physician. Since the model's first team began work last summer, wait times for new patients seeking non-urgent primary care appointments fell 66% across the health system's Florida market.
"We want to make sure the patients knocking at our door are able to get in," Surendra Khera, MD, vice president of the Cleveland Clinic's primary care institute in Florida, said in a statement. "When patients are unable to see their physician, they are more likely to visit an emergency room or urgent care clinic. That's not just a more expensive venue for care but can accentuate wait times for patients in those venues who may need more immediate and urgent attention."
Additionally, the CAT model involves "in-basket captains," or APPs who triage and manage hundreds of prescription refill requests, form management and other patient messages that come through daily. The IB captains also manage in-basket messages while clinicians are on vacation.
The model reflects a broader shift in healthcare, with health systems increasingly expanding their APP workforces to meet growing demands for primary care. Data from AMN Healthcare shows job searches for nurse practitioners and physician assistants now surpass those for primary care physicians, with APPs making up more than 60% of providers entering the workforce in 2020.
Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Health is another health system implementing a team-based, physician-led primary care model that pairs one physician with two APPs. To support the model, Sentara plans to double its APP workforce over the next three years, projecting that each APP will increase primary care capacity by 70%, leaders told Becker's in October.