After three years, a medical home pilot initiative in southeastern Pennsylvania did not lead to significant improvements in quality of care or reductions in costs, Commonwealth Fund–supported researchers Mark Friedberg and colleagues report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In a new blog post, Commonwealth Fund Vice President Melinda Abrams puts these results into perspective. "While some may be ready to hand medical homes a failing grade, the study’s findings underscore what we already knew about this team-based model of primary care," writes Abrams, who notes that, to achieve maximum impact, medical homes must target patients with complex medical conditions and be rewarded for any cost savings they generate.
