MHQP’s Statewide Patient Experience Survey Shows Patients Struggling to Access Primary Care Clinicians for Fourth Year in a Row

(February 2025)

While Primary Care Experience Scores Have Improved, Access Remains Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

Against the backdrop of some important policy steps to begin addressing the fragile state of primary care in Massachusetts, MHQP is releasing data from its 2024 Statewide Patient Experience Survey which reconfirms that access to primary care is a persistent problem in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite improvements in patient experiences in other areas of primary care, access scores remain well below pre-pandemic levels for the fourth consecutive year.

First conducted in 2005, MHQP’s statewide survey, which is made possible through a collaborative initiative between MHQP, health plans and provider organizations, is a scientifically rigorous assessment of patients’ experiences with primary care that establishes accountability and reliable comparisons of clinician performance for Massachusetts. Responses are aggregated to form “composite scores” across thematic areas for each respondent, which are then combined to create overall statewide scores. In 2024, results were collected from patients of 3,800 primary care clinicians at 846 practices across the state. These practice level results can be viewed on MHQP’s consumer-facing website, www.healthcarecompassMA.org.

While patient experiences in other domains of primary care improved in 2024, primary care access continued to lag. Access scores, which were 86.8 and 86.4 in 2018 and 2019, respectively, dropped to 83.0 and 82.6 in 2021 and 2022 amid pandemic-related challenges. Concerningly, these scores have remained relatively unchanged in the post-pandemic years of 2023 and 2024, with scores of 82.2 and 83.0, respectively.

“MHQP’s data confirm that access to primary care is a very big problem in our state, as too many patients are finding it challenging to get into these practices in the first place,” said Julita Mir, MHQP’s Board Chair. “Without sufficient access for all patients, primary care cannot meet its ultimate mission as the foundation of our healthcare system.”

These results come amid recent legislative action aimed at addressing the state’s primary care crisis. In January, Governor Healey signed An Act Enhancing the Market Review Process (H5159) into law. The bill includes a provision that establishes a Primary Care Task Force to study primary care access, delivery and payment, and to develop recommendations to stabilize and strengthen the primary care system, increase recruitment, and increase financial investment and patient access. MHQP is honored to be included in the legislation as a member of the Task Force and pleased that the Massachusetts Primary Care Dashboard we produce with the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) will be the measurement instrument for this extremely important work.

Later in January, Governor Healey threw her full support behind primary care in her State of the State address, saying, “I am directing my Administration to shift healthcare resources to the front lines. And by that, I mean primary care. We’ll drive career training pipelines to grow the workforce. I want a whole army of primary care providers out there, so when you call for an appointment, you’ll get one.”

The data from MHQP’s survey underscores the importance of these policy changes. While primary care practices across Massachusetts continue to provide exceptional patient care, they remain overwhelmed and under-resourced. This challenge is also reflected in data from the Massachusetts Primary Care Dashboard, which reported that in 2023, 41% of Massachusetts residents reported difficulty obtaining necessary healthcare.

“We’ve been sounding the alarm for some time that our state’s primary care system is in crisis and that our frontline clinicians are stressed and overburdened,” said Barbra Rabson, MHQP’s President and CEO. “The improvements in patient experience are a testament to the dedication of our primary care workforce. These recent policy shifts are a much-needed step toward ensuring that clinicians can continue delivering high-quality care to all patients.”

MHQP will continue to monitor and report on patient experiences to guide policy decisions and improve healthcare delivery across the Commonwealth.