Meeting a primary care challenge in the United States: chronic illness care.

Leading health care experts in the United States have stated that the greatest primary care challenge today is meeting the complex needs of patients with chronic illness/long-term conditions or impairment.To address this challenge, there is a need for health care system redesign that requires a multidisciplinary team approach, including active participation from professional nurses. In particular, it is essential for advanced practice nurses to provide leadership in health systems design for which they are specifically trained and experienced.