Patient-centered medical home model effectiveness and research limitations

Healthcare

Patient Centered Medical Home

PCMH model leads to reduced cost of care, improved population health" is a medical report authored by Katie Sullivan Published on FierceHealthcare. The report is a summary of the general findings of a report carried out by the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative. According to the research report, the Patient Centered Medical Home has resulted in reduced unnecessary emergency room (ER) and hospital visits, costs of care, and improved population health.

The research methodology employed is the review of literature released between August 2012 and December 2013. This means that a panel of experts reviews all the articles before they accepted for publication. The report achieves quality and merit by restricting the literature to peer review articles that can be relied for scholarly and official use. However, there is no indication of the section process used in identifying the literature to be used. August 2012 to December 2013 is a period of seventeen months whereby a significant number of studies were conducted. Furthermore, in practicality, there is bound to be conflicting with the research findings in some of the studies. It is critical to identify and effective and unbiased means of selecting research literature to be used; the report does not have the practical capability of analyzing every research study conducted between the seventeen months.

There is a significant flaw because it appears skewed in nature. The report mainly focuses on the advantages and benefits realized by the report and does not make mention of any disadvantages caused by the model or the various challenges faced by the model. In this way, since the model is an aspect of human creation, it would be impractical to show that the model lacks flaws and hence has not resulted in any disadvantages.

Since the government was being overwhelmed by medical aid demands, the medical home model of care was developed and implemented in order to transform the health care delivery system through its ability to reduce costs while enhancing quality and efficiency at the same time. From the report, the report has been a complete success in that it has resulted in significant reductions in the cost of care, reduction in the use of avoidable and unnecessary medical services, the enhancement in population health indicators and preventive services and improved access to care.

Furthermore, the patient-centered medical home has been effective in enhancing and strengthening other healthcare systems. This is evident in the cases of Accountable Care Organizations. A significant percentage of the highest performing ACO's has effectively incorporated the model into their systems and already realizing its benefits. From the report, on its complete implementation, the model will transform the United States healthcare system from the traditional fee-for-service toward alternative payment methods.