Accountable care organizations and medical homes have received a lot of attention as models for providing high-quality, efficient health care. In two studies published in the new issue of Health Affairs, Commonwealth Fund–supported researchers offer insight on how to ensure that America's most vulnerable populations, including low-income families and patients with complex conditions, will benefit from these promising ways of delivering care. The studies are:
- The Promise and Peril of Accountable Care for Vulnerable Populations: A Framework for Overcoming Obstacles, by Valerie A. Lewis, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
- The Post-Katrina Conversion of Clinics in New Orleans to Medical Homes Shows Change Is Possible, but Hard to Sustain, by Diane R. Rittenhouse, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.