Who Owns the Relationship as the Gatekeeper Role Fades?
For decades, “primary care” has been the gatekeeper of American medicine. PCPs were the trusted first contact, the coordinator of referrals, and, frequently, the arbiter of necessity.
But that construct is eroding in the face of new consumer behavior, technology, and market design, prompting health plan and provider system leaders to address the uncomfortable question of what happens when the gate no longer exists, or when the gatekeeper is an algorithm?
