The “Patient-Centered Medical Home” (PCMH) is the latest in health care quality initiatives. In a PCMH, a medical team—led by a patient’s primary physician—continuously coordinates and manages the patient’s health care throughout their life. The transition is being led by the promise of paying physicians for the quality of the care they give rather than the number of patients they treat.

Health care providers across the country are slowly transitioning their practices into PCMHs. In the pilot program in Arizona, supported by IBM and sponsored by health insurance provider United Healthcare, several primary care practices in Phoenix and Tucson have turned into PCMHs, and Blue Cross Blue Shield is doing the same in Michigan. Johns Hopkins and the American Academy of Family Physicians have already created an online Continuing Medical Education course for physicians to help their transform their primary care practices into PCMH systems. 

IBM, a large employer in Arizona, is closely involved with PCMH and encourages its employers in the area to seek care with physicians who are participating in the pilot program. The program is intended to increase access to care, improve quality and better manage costs, according to Will Shanley, director of public relations at United Healthcare.

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