The number of physicians participating in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's patient-centered medical home program this year increased by 25 percent from 2012, according to a Crain's Detroit Business report.
The payer's PCMH program, which is the largest in the country, has certified 3,770 physicians in 1,243 practices for 2013. Nearly 2 million patients in Michigan have access to physicians enrolled in the program, under which BCBS of Michigan offers physicians financial incentives for closely coordinating patients' care with specialists, monitoring their health and offering evening and weekend appointments.
BCBS of Michigan is in its fifth year of the PCMH program and has seen some promising results. In the first three years, PCMH physicians avoided $155 million in costs to the insurer and patients.
Also, in 2013, BCBS of Michigan found the PCMH practices had lower rates of hospitalizations and emergency department use than other practices.
For instance, patients treated by physicians participating in the program had an 8.8 percent lower rate of ED visits. There was also a 19.1 percent lower rate of adult hospital discharges for certain ambulatory care sensitive conditions, such as pneumonia, asthma, hypertension and diabetes.
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