The American College of Physicians (ACP) has announced that it has received a Commonwealth Fund grant of nearly $225,000 to study the cost of a patient-centered medical home (PCMH). The grant, part of the Commonwealth Fund's Patient-Centered Primary Care Initiative, will help underwrite a 10-month study which began in November 2007. ACP committed matching funds late in 2007.
The PCMH is a conceptual model of care whose goal is to put the needs of the patient first. It can be the base from which healthcare services are coordinated to provide more effective and efficient care to the patient. The PCMH includes using health information technology; coordinating specialty and inpatient care; providing preventive services through health promotion; and using disease management and prevention, health maintenance, behavioral health services, patient education and diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses.
The study - 'What Does a Patient-Centered Medical Home Cost?' - will be directed by Dr. Michael S. Barr, vice president of ACP's Department of Practice Advocacy and Improvement. The research team will be led by Dr. Robert Berenson, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who is an expert in healthcare policy, particularly Medicare. ACP has convened a multi-stakeholder advisory committee to help guide the project.
The US-based Commonwealth Fund is an independent philanthropic foundation working toward health policy reform and a high performance health system.
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