Team treatment seeks better patient care
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Over the past decade, so-called patient-centered medical homes have been the Next Big Thing in medicine, a new method of primary care designed to coordinate care more effectively, improve communication among doctors, patients and insurers and provide better outcomes for the patient while curbing per-member costs for the entire system.
On Monday, Pittsburgh health insurer Highmark Inc. announced that it was making its first big foray into this new way of practicing medicine, with pilot programs at 13 physician practices in Western Pennsylvania, the midstate and West Virginia, affecting up to 45,000 customers and patients.
The program launches in earnest June 1, but many of the involved practices have been working on related efforts for years, investing in electronic records, overhauling payment programs for doctors, rethinking patient scheduling and otherwise preparing for a brave new world of health care in which outcomes and value, not volume, drive the system.
What is a patient-centered medical home? The "home" is a bit of a misnomer -- it is not a home as we might think of a senior care home. Instead it's a practice in which the patients are said to be the focus, and in which a group of doctors, specialists and insurance company compliance monitors try to keep the patient healthy.
"You try to assemble as many of the resources under one roof," explained Dr. Keith Kanel, chief medical officer at the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative. It's a team-based approach, instead of the physician-centered set-up many of us are now familiar with, in which you visit your doctor and if you need an additional layer of care, you'll be referred to a specialist.
In short, it's a full re-imagining of the physician's practice and the patient's experience.
Other insurers -- as well entire hospital networks, health foundations and thousands of physician practices -- have launched similar projects. Locally, the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative is halfway through a four-year project to convert the city's safety net clinics into patient-centered medical homes.
First Published April 19, 2011 12:00 am
