By Hootsbuddy
This post aims to correct one of many misunderstandings about H.R.3200. Many of these goofy misrepresentations are almost too far out to be taken seriously. But the medical home treatment model is new to the discussion so someone not familiar with the phrase may believe anything someone says about it.
A couple of weeks ago a local radio talk show host was ginning up fear of health care reform by telling his listeners that under legislation coming out of Congress (he called it "Obamacare" to make the point) you would no longer be able to choose your own doctor. Instead, he said with confidence, you will be assigned to a "medical home" which will decide what treatment you will have and where you will get it. Your days of making choices about those things will be over and some government bureaucrat would be making the choices.
That story is wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to start. The medical home concept is not new, nor is it waiting for legislation.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) introduced the medical home concept in 1967, initially referring to a central location for archiving a child�s medical record. In its 2002 policy statement, the AAP expanded the medical home concept to include these operational characteristics: accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective care.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the American College of Physicians (ACP) have since developed their own models for improving patient care called the �medical home� (AAFP, 2004) or �advanced medical home� (ACP, 2006).
David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog has a link-filled post today telling you more about the medical home concept than you ever thought you needed to know.
Since chronic disease accounts for 75% of our health care spend, it is reasonable to focus our collective energy on improving prevention and management of chronic conditions. One of the best approaches to date is the medical home model, and a number of different approaches to implementing this model from around the country were presented at the recent White House roundtable. The Joint Principles of the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH), a 2 1/2 year old consensus document produced by several medical societies, is a key starting point for any discussion of medical home implementation.
Much more at the links. But the main point to remember is that a medical home collaborative may be in your future, particularly if you fall victim to a chronic disease.
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