title: The clinically excellent primary care physician: examples from the published literature.
abstract: Clinical excellence is the ultimate goal in patient care. Exactly what the clinically excellent primary care physician (PCP) looks like and her characteristics have not been explicitly described. This manuscript serves to illustrate clinical excellence in primary care, using primarily case reports exemplifying physicians delivering holistic and patient-centred care to their patients. With an ever increasing demand for accessible and accountable health care, an understanding of the qualities desirable in primary care providers is now especially relevant.A literature review was conducted to identify compelling stories showing how excellent PCPs care for their patients. In the 2397 published works reviewed, we were able to find case reports and studies that exemplified every domain of the description of clinical excellence proposed and published by the Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence (MCACE). After reviewing these reports, the authors felt that the domains of excellence, as described by the MCACE, are practically applicable and relevant for primary care physicians. It is our hope that this paper prompts readers to reflect on clinical excellence in primary care.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5200 Eastern Ave., Mason F. Lord Center Tower, 2nd Floor, Baltimore, 21224, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5200 Eastern Ave., Mason F. Lord Center Tower, 2nd Floor, Baltimore, 21224, MD, USA. swright@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5200 Eastern Ave., Mason F. Lord Center Tower, 2nd Floor, Baltimore, 21224, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wolfe
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D062526:Patient Navigation; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D000068616:Professionalism; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care
keywords: Clinical excellence; Primary care