New <em>Health Affairs</em> Article Shows How Small Physician Practices Can Share Resources to Provide Patients with a Medical Home
<p>Patients who have a medical home that ensures easy access to care, open communication with providers, and efficient, well-coordinated services are more likely to receive better care and experience fewer medical errors. However, for small, nonaffiliated practices lacking in resources and staff, providing all medical home services in-house can be a challenge. </p>
<p>In an article in the new issue of <em>Health Affairs</em>, <a href="/publications/journal-article/2010/jun/how-physician-practices-could-share-personnel-and-resources">How Physician Practices Could Share Personnel and Resources to Support Medical Homes</a>, Commonwealth Fund experts show how groups of small practices can band together to provide medical home services, sharing the costs and improving their performance. Authors Melinda K. Abrams, M.S., Edward L. Schor, M.D., and Stephen C. Schoenbaum, M.D., M.P.H., present examples of shared resources, recommend ways to ensure their development and dissemination, and suggest organizational and structural changes to practices. <br /><br />Spurred by provisions in the Affordable Care Act, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are all developing programs to promote shared resources for medical homes. The authors stress the importance of coordinating these projects to ensure consistent selection criteria and performance measures, and deploying federal resources to help promote coordination among state-based pilot projects. <br /></p>