Analysis & commentary. How to forge a high-tech marriage between primary care and population health.

There has been much discussion in the policy arena about increasing the supply of primary care physicians or creating incentives to encourage physicians to practice in "medical homes" and focus on population health. However, innovations that deliver primary and population health care directly to consumers are the seeds of a solution that promise far greater benefit. These innovations include in-store clinics, in-home and on- and in-body monitoring devices with wireless communication linkages, and emerging diagnostic tools that promise greater precision in recognizing preclinical disease states. They can help the United States and other nations address the significant challenges ahead: major demographic shifts, increased global competition, the growing burden of chronic illness, and the costs of training and employing sufficient numbers of primary care physicians to meet future demands.