CWF study: Medical home improves coordination, reduces errors

Chronically and seriously ill adults who received care from a medical home were less likely to report medical errors, test duplication, and other care coordination failures, according to a new Commonwealth Fund international survey of patients' experiences in the U.S. and 10 other high-income countries. It will appear in the December issue of Health Affairs and was posted today as a "Web First" article. Across the health care systems studied, patients who were connected to a medical home in general had more positive care experiences, including better support for managing chronic conditions, better communication and better care coordination.(Commonwealth Fund)   

Failed MHS program a cautionary tale for PCMH and ACO models

The now-defunct Medicare Health Support pilot provides a cautionary tale for ACOs and medical homes, warns Jaan Sidorov in his Disease Management Blog. An MHS re-analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine provides "a timely reminder about the perils of contracting with CMS." Among the lessons: "In retrospect, the research that led to MHS that suggested that disease management 'worked' was imperfect, and the same could be said of the largely observational and underpowered research supporting medical homes and the total lack of any meaningful experience with ACOs." (NEJM; Disease Management Blog)

Providers & Suppliers

Diagnostic communication failures increase malpractice payments

Report: Patient satisfaction scores help drive physician compensation

Changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, health care reform and market competition are all driving changes in shaping physician compensation models, according to a new HealthLeaders Media Intelligence Report, "Physician Compensation: Shifting Incentives." The report finds 50 percent of health care executives and clinical leaders interviewed are now using patient satisfaction scores to guide physician incentive payments; 57 percent use quality metrics. The fee-for-service model remains dominant, so productivity ranks highest (75 percent) as a compensation model. (HealthLeaders Magazine; the report )

Cleveland Clinic among those to stop reporting Leapfrog

Three large hospital systems--Cleveland Clinic, Detroit's Henry Ford and Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, Ind.--have stopped reporting data on hospital-acquired infections to the Leapfrog Group, according to Consumer Reports. Instead of reporting to Leapfrog, Cleveland Clinic will focus reporting to government-run databases, including data collected by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. However, those data are not public. (Consumer Reports)

PCPCC speakers: PCMH lowers costs, improves quality

Speakers at the recent Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative meeting in Washington presented outcomes data demonstrating improved quality, greater patient access and lower costs in the patient-centered medical home, AAFP News Now reports. For example, Melinda Abrams, vice president of patient-centered coordinated care for The Commonwealth Fund, gave an overview of medical home outcomes data during the past five years. She reported reductions in emergency department visits and ambulatory care-sensitive admissions. "We have also seen improvements in quality and increases in efficiencies." (AAFP News Now)

The Expanding PCMH: News and Updates

Two Kansas health clinics, Gracemed Health Clinic Inc. in Wichita and Konza Prairie Community Health in Junction City were among 500 community health centers in 44 states that will share about $42 million during the three-year Advanced Primary Care Practice demonstration program. (KHI News Service)  

Twelve Washington State hospitals have demonstrated Meaningful Use of EHRs. The facilities receive IT services from Inland Northwest Health Services, one of the 17 federally-funded Beacon health IT communities nationwide.(Health Data Management) 

The National Committee for Quality Assurance has announced that the Earl K. Long Medical Center South Baton Rouge (La.) Clinic at the Leo S. Butler Community Center has received Level 2 recognition from the Physician Practice Connections-Patient Centered Medical Home program for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long-term patient-physician relationships. (Bayou Buzz)