Patient-centered medical homes are popping up in Cleveland, proving to be a viable solution for the area’s shortage of primary care physicians, according to a Cleveland Plain Dealer report.
Cleveland Clinic has 16 health centers nationally certified as medical homes. Through the model, patients can access a team of specialists and other providers for checkups and chronic disease management.
“As we face a shortage of primary care physicians, the goal is to use other providers and medical assistants to help take care of a larger number of patients,” David L. Longworth, MD, an internist and chairman of the Cleveland Clinic’s medicine institute, said in the report.
MetroHealth, also based in Cleveland, offers a program called Partners in Care that coordinates services for approximately 45 percent of more than 26,000 uninsured patients. Along with improved patient health, the model has resulted in some noticeable changes for the hospital system. Last year, visits to the emergency department at MetroHealth’s main campus declined by nearly 7 percent among patients enrolled in the program compared to the uninsured who were not. Also, inpatient stays decreased by nearly 35 percent.
Related Articles on Patient-Centered Medical Homes:
Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland Physicians Help Lead Patient-Centered Medical Home Pilot
Smaller Practices Use Few Patient-Centered Medical Homes Processes, Healthcare Experts Say
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