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HEALTHY VISION 2020 I NEW MODELS OF CARE SECTION 3


Promote Efficient and Effective New Models of Care (Right Care, Right Person, Right Time, Right Place)


No one worries about the spiraling cost of U.S. health care more than physicians. Our current health care delivery system does too little to coordinate care for patients with expensive-to- manage chronic conditions. We don’t make the most effective use of allied health practitioners. We are requiring physicians to invest in high-dollar health information technology (HIT) systems without ensuring that the investment translates into better patient care. We are responding to calls to measure a physician’s effectiveness and efficiency but are concerned that the measures are not focusing on the right metrics. The way to save money in health care is not through ill-advised, random rationing of care, but rather through systems that ensure the right professional provides the right care, at the right place, and at the right time.


Promote the patient-centered medical home for every Texan


Consider that the costliest 1 percent of patients in the United States account for more than 20 percent of what the nation spends on health care. They are older patients with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other serious chronic conditions. Many have multiple health problems, and their relatives might not be helping with their care. Most have private insurance and are white and female.26


As public and private payers look for ways to lower costs, improve patient outcomes, and ease burdens to access, they are turning to models of care that both increase economic efficiencies and enhance patient care. One of these is the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model. A PCMH is a primary care physician or physician-led team who ensures that patient care is accessible, coordinated, comprehensive, patient-centered, and culturally relevant. The physician or team directly provide,


64 TEXAS MEDICINE September 2012


coordinate, or arrange health care or social support services as indicated by the patient’s individual medical needs and the best available medical evidence. The model uses a team-based approach with the patient’s primary care physician leading the overall coordination of care. Trained teams and well-constructed electronic health records (EHRs) are key to a successful PCMH.


TMA supports the use of the PCMH model in Medicare, Texas Medicaid, and commercial insurance plans. Public and private payers have, increasingly, been looking to this model as a way to reduce fragmented care, lower costs, avoid repetitive and costly procedures, and improve patient outcomes. Given the budget constraints that Texas faces and a growing population with unique health care needs, the PCMH offers the potential for Medicaid cost savings as well as improved patient outcomes and physician and provider satisfaction.


In recent years, numerous states have implemented PCMH initiatives that engage both private and public payers. While each program design was unique and each measured success differently, these initiatives showed improved outcomes and reduced costs. Below are just a few examples of PCMH successes.27


• In a recent Blue Cross and Blue Shield pilot in Colorado, New Hampshire, and New York, the program showed an 18-percent decrease in acute inpatient admission rates compared with an 18-percent increase in the non- medical home group. Additionally, there was a 15-percent decrease in the rate of emergency department visits, compared with a 4-percent increase in the non-PCMH group.28


• Oklahoma saw complaints about access to same-day or next-day care decrease from 1,670


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