Patient Centered Medical Home Model Adds Big Expense To Primary Care Practices

Michael K. Magill, MD Professor and Chairman, Family and Preventive Medicine University of Utah School of Medicine Salt Lake City, UT 84108MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michael K. Magill, MD

Professor and Chairman, Family and Preventive Medicine
University of Utah School of Medicine
Salt Lake City, UT  84108

 

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Magill: The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of primary care is becoming more common. The model focuses on team delivery of care with other medical staff joining the primary care provider/clinician to provide for all patients’ healthcare needs.  However, the cost of sustaining PCMH functions is not well understood. This  study assessed direct personnel cost of delivering PCMH services in 20 diverse primary care practices in Utah and Colorado. The main finding is that PCMH services cost on average around $105,000 per clinician FTE per year, or around $4.00 per member per month for an imputed panel size of 2000 patients per FTE clinician. 

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Magill: Delivery of enhanced primary care services through the Patient Centered Medical Home model adds significant expense to the practices. However, studies of the benefits of PCMH to reduce overall cost of care may outweigh this cost by a factor of 10 or more to one.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Magill: Future research should focus on the relationship between cost, staffing models, and outcomes such as patient and provider satisfaction, quality of care, and total cost of care. Payment reform should cover these costs based on the value of outcomes achieved.

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Citation:

Michael K. Magill, David Ehrenberger, Debra L. Scammon, Julie Day,Tatiana Allen, Andreu J. Reall, Rhonda W. Sides, and Jaewhan Kim

The Cost of Sustaining a Patient-Centered Medical Home: Experience From 2 StatesAnn Fam Med September/October 2015 13:429-435;doi:10.1370/afm.1851

 

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Michael K. Magill, MD (2015). Patient Centered Medical Home Model Adds Big Expense To Primary Care Practice MedicalResearch.com

Last Updated on September 17, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD