Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's patient centered medical home is helping drive demonstrated results in driving down emergency department and hospitalization utilization, as well as costs, particularly for patients with chronic conditions, according to a recent study.
The study, published in Health Services Research, examines three years of claims data from 2,218 practices in Michigan. The practices were designated as PCMH, meaning they provided coordinated care with physician-led care teams.
The model was associated with a 3.7 percent reduction in ED visits and a 3.8 percent reduction in hospital visits. When researchers zeroed in on patients with one or more of six chronic conditions — asthma, angina, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure — they found these results were magnified three-fold. For the patients with chronic disease in PCMHs, ED utilization was down 11.2 percent and hospital utilization was down 13.9 percent.
"This is because the PCMH practices are coordinating their patients' care, and caring for their patients in the office before conditions escalate to a point where hospital or ER use is needed," David Share, MD, BCBS of Michigan senior vice president of value partnerships, said in a statement.
This reduction in use was also associated with a reduction in cost. For the patients with chronic conditions in PCMHs, hospital per member per month costs dropped 17.2 percent and ED per member per month costs dropped 9.4 percent.
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