Fragmented, uncoordinated care is a core cause of rising health care costs and reduced quality of care, according to the American College of Physicians. Within this uncoordinated system exists a lack of consistent, well-managed patient clinical information and little access to complete patient history across the care continuum, resulting in higher administrative costs, inappropriate and redundant care and duplicate medical tests.
The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of care is a potential solution. PCMH is an approach to providing comprehensive primary care that facilitates partnerships between individual patients and their personal physicians.
In this model, the primary physician leads a team of health care professionals at the practice level who collectively take responsibility for the ongoing care of the patient –and the patient's family - at all stages of life. This care is coordinated across the health care system, facilitated by health IT and focused on quality and outcomes.
As payers and purchasers, the advancement of the PCMH model in Louisiana represents the potential to reduce health care costs while improving health care quality and overall health.
