Patient-Centered Medical Home grows patient, provider satisfaction, study says

A year-long study conducted at a teaching clinic in Los Angeles found that implementing some of the components of the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model increased both patient and resident provider satisfaction.

The results of the study were published in The Journal of the American Medical Assocation Internal Medicine website.

“We believe our study is the first controlled evaluation of a PCMH-guided intervention in a teaching setting,” said Michael Hochman, MD, MPH, the study’s lead author, according to AAFP News Now. “While the study was done at an internal medicine clinic, it certainly is relevant to family medicine, as well.”

The changes made in the intervention clinic reflect three central principles of the PCMH model by expanding access, enhancing coordination between providers, and implementing team-based care.

The specific changes included:

1. Creation of a call center during clinic hours.

2. Telephone renewal of prescriptions.

3. More urgent care appointment each day.

4. 24/7 access to physicians.

Patients’ overall rating of care as “good” or “excellent” increased from 56% to 80% in the intervention clinic, which were much better improvement ratings than in the study’s control group clinics.

Meanwhile, residents’ overall rating of the clinic experience rose from 47% to 57%, while satisfaction fell in the control group clinics.