| Summary: | A large body of evidence shows clear linkages between workplace conditions and employee satisfaction and stress in a wide variety of organizational and industry settings. In the healthcare industry, increasing interest in understanding these linkages stems from the idea that healthcare providers' working environments also affect important patient outcomes, including safety, quality of care and satisfication. Additionally, meeting objectives of the current healthcare reform to increase healthcare quality by increasing the availability of primary care providers and making care safer, more efficient, effective and patient-centered hinges on the ability to deal with the documented shortage of primary care providers in the U.S. and at the same time improve patient outcomes. The purpose of this report was to systematically review the evidence on the role of primary care providers' workplace conditions in influencing patient outcomes. We focused on patient satisfaction, safety, and quality of care for patient outcomes (note that there may be some overlap in how these patient outcomes are measured). We excluded articles that focused on one specific disease or patient population. The focus on primary care providers' work environment will provide evidence on increasing healthcare quality. Results from this review may inform policymakers as they endeavor to implement aspects of the healthcare reform related to increasing the supply of primary care providers and improving patient outcomes
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