Part of the reason is given by ROB himself:
The solution from an overall cost standpoint is to give primary care physicians incentive to do what they should be doing in the first place: keep people healthy and away from hospitals.
This is a simplified version of the claim to support patients in their customer role. Primary Care doctors are the first in line to give healthcare a human touch by means of information and education. Patients should lern to manage health and illness, and this is primary care in the very literal sense. Applying Patient Centered Information Systems to support all continouus education and information is what gives primary care doctors more time for personal guidance. I believe it is not a contradiction to claim better self management possibilities and improved personal relationship with primary care doctors. It is just a consequence of a better separation of concerns. An educated patient does what he is able to do. And he or she should.
