Patient registries in primary care: essential element for quality improvement.

Primary care in the United States has been in the midst of a transformation from a system based solely on individual office interactions to one that includes managing health at a population level. The chronic care model provides a robust framework for health systems to transform and restructure their delivery of care to one that is committed to delivering multidisciplinary quality care with a proactive approach. Patient and disease registries are the essential tools necessary to inform all elements of the chronic care model and guide practices though this transformation.