Read the Proceedings of the Carter Center's Medical Home Summit (PDF)
What is a medical home?
- Under the medical home model, the patient is supported by a team of health care professionals who share responsibility for the patient's health. Medical homes can strengthen the primary care system by replacing poorly coordinated, illness-focused, and episodic care with a coordinated primary care-led delivery system that focuses on the whole person, not just on their illness (Adams et al, IBM Institute for Business Value).
- Fourty-four states and the District of Columbia have passed or introduced at least 330 laws to define or demonstrate the medical home concept (Patient Centered Medical Home Collaborative).
Why is a medical home important to health reform? Why is it important for health promotion?
- If successful, the medical home system could help Medicare remain financially viable as the baby boomer population ages (Jane Brody, New York Times).
- Community Care of North Carolina saved $161 million per year by implementing a medical home model (Beat et al, Annals of Family Medicine).
- The Voice of Detroit Initiative, a medical home pilot study, reduced emergency department use by more than 60 percent and cut uncompensated care costs from $51.2 million to $29.7 million (Adams et al, IBM Institute for Business Value).
How do medical homes impact the patient?
- Only 65 percent of U.S. adults under age 65 have access to a primary care physician and half of adults say their care is not coordinated, with specialists not receiving information from primary care providers or never being called about test results (Commonwealth Fund).
- People who live in states with higher ratios of primary care physicians to patients are less likely to die from cancer, heart disease, or stroke (Adams et al, IBM Institute for Business Value).
What role do medical homes have in current health reform legislation and policy?
- Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius and White House Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Anne De Parle have publicly supported medical homes as part of health reform (AAFP, Kaiser Family Foundation).
