The Medical Home Model: Ideas from IBM

Remember your family doctor? The person who knew your whole history? Who would see you outside of office hours and on weekends? IBM and healthcare advocates want to bring the family doctor back... in the form of a new model for primary care: the Medical Home. And in this new world, he or she will even make house calls—albeit virtually.

"It started about three years ago," remembers Dr. Paul Grundy, IBM's director of healthcare transformation. "We were talking about all the things that large employers in the U.S. like IBM had done to reduce costs and improve quality and we realized we were failing to address a fundamental issue: primary care."

Shortly afterwards, he helped found the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC), a coalition of large employers, consumer organizations and medical providers. They developed a healthcare model based on the premise that more holistic primary care could save money by reducing the incidence of major health problems later in life.

Read the full story on im.com

Comments

[Deborah Leyva]

As the journey toward online health information continues, I have reflected on the fact that EHRs, PMIs have the potential to bring patients closer to their physicians/primary providers and to increase dialogue between them. This is reminiscent of the "old days" when doctors came to the home to provide care - now termed "The Medical Home." The improved dialogue has the upside potential to improve health and the delivery of healthcare. Thanks for sharing.

[mac insleads]

It is good to see that progress is being made to implement better preventative practices through technology. This will definatly improve the health care system overall by catching small things earlier before they become huge problems for the paitent.

[Jayla]

We are really in need of other types of health care and this is a perfect example of a healthcare method that is geared towards those who are in need. Great Idea!
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[ask a nurse]

Virtual healthcare seems to be the new wave of medical practice.

The healthcare system is falling apart, but as a health advocate I am assured a job as medical industries are in high demand always. Many poeple these days are utilizing
medical call center and telephone triage services to skirt high medical costs. A nurse line combined with certified nurse triage practicioners is a great alternative to going to the ER and being charged those astronimcal fees.

[Electronic Medical Records]

This is a common problem in healthcare these days. The doctors become "dead" to the world and have no emotional attachment what so ever with the patient. Now I understand that doctors aren't supposed to get attatched at all with patients ,but you got to show some type of warmth about you when practicing medicine.