Dive Brief:
- Two new studies measuring the benefits of the patient centered medical home model has come out with apparently contradictory insights.
- One research effort, a three-year study comparing 32 Southeast Pennsylvania practices that adopted NCQA medical home standards with 29 that had not adopted the standards, found no significant improvement in all but one of 11 quality measures, according to findings in JAMA.
- On the other hand, University of Minnesota School of Public Health researchers found that practices adopting the state's "healthcare home" model improved scores in several areas, including colorectal cancer screening, asthma care and diabetes care.
Dive Insight:
Patient centered medical homes seem like a very good idea, in theory, but until we develop national standards, it will be very hard to decide what the studies are actually telling us. Establishing those standards should be a priority.