(originally published at www.hospitalimpact.org)
Not long ago I sat around a dinner table with brilliant individuals from all different work sectors coming together to discuss opportunities to improve the healthcare system and the health of our communities.
Much of our discussion focused on the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) and government intervention(s) to improve upon this concept. We shared lots of interesting perspectives, best practices, lessons learned, impacts and lack of impacts of efforts in this area, and in some cases, disagreements as to where we go from here.
The patient-centered medical home concept has always fascinated me (having run an organization that in 2010 was referred to by the leading driver of the PCMH model in Maine as the standard for PCMH in 2020 because we were so far ahead of the curve). Although I agree with the intention of the PCMH, I do have significant concerns with the execution, cost and impact (financial and clinical outcome return on investment) and the fact that the PCMH itself is becoming the end goal rather than the improved health of our communities (with PCMH serving as a tool).
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