Results from the American Academy of Family Physicians' national patient-centered medical home demonstration suggest launching such a care delivery model may be much more challenging than anticipated.
The results from the National Demonstration Project were published in the most recent issue of Health Affairs. The demonstration project, which was launched in 2006, involved 36 family practices that were turned in patient-centered medical homes. Years later, the demonstration project showed that two years was not enough time to transform family practices into the patient-centered care model, citing incremental change as one of the biggest barriers to a more swift transformation.
For example, some practices created disease registries without reconfiguring work flows to use them effectively for population management, putting the practices further behind and slowing down the transformation process. The demonstration project also revealed other challenges, such as the difficulty primary care physicians have in working in a team setting or within "care teams"; "change fatigue" which can falter progress and lead to provider burnout or turnover; and lack of interoperability and integration with other care providers through health IT.
Read the Health Affairs study about patient-centered medical homes.
Read other coverage about patient-centered medical homes:
- Advocate PHO: Data Registries Key to ACO Success
- Study Identifies Four Major Challenges to ACO Development
- Horizon BCBS Subsidiary Launches N.J.'s First Patient Centered Medical Home
The results from the National Demonstration Project were published in the most recent issue of Health Affairs. The demonstration project, which was launched in 2006, involved 36 family practices that were turned in patient-centered medical homes. Years later, the demonstration project showed that two years was not enough time to transform family practices into the patient-centered care model, citing incremental change as one of the biggest barriers to a more swift transformation.
For example, some practices created disease registries without reconfiguring work flows to use them effectively for population management, putting the practices further behind and slowing down the transformation process. The demonstration project also revealed other challenges, such as the difficulty primary care physicians have in working in a team setting or within "care teams"; "change fatigue" which can falter progress and lead to provider burnout or turnover; and lack of interoperability and integration with other care providers through health IT.
Read the Health Affairs study about patient-centered medical homes.
Read other coverage about patient-centered medical homes:
- Advocate PHO: Data Registries Key to ACO Success
- Study Identifies Four Major Challenges to ACO Development
- Horizon BCBS Subsidiary Launches N.J.'s First Patient Centered Medical Home