TJC Launches Primary Care Medical Home Option

The Joint Commission (TJC) is now accepting applications from accredited ambulatory care organizations for a Primary Care Medical Home option (PCMH) that will launch in July 2011.

The PCMH is a delivery model that provides patients with coordinated care by a primary care physician and team of healthcare professionals. The model emphasizes improved communication among clinics, facilities, and healthcare professionals to improve patient satisfaction and health outcomes.

To learn more about the PCMH option and to see TJC's PCMH standards for ambulatory care organizations, click here:
http://www.jointcommission.org/joint_commission_primary_care_medical_home_option_to_launch_in_july/


Source: The Joint Commission

New Physician Survey Finds Medicare Payment Change Hurts Care Coordination Efforts - AMA

The elimination of Medicare’s consultation codes has had a negative impact on physician efforts to improve care coordination and reduced the treatment options available to Medicare patients, according to a new survey released today by medical specialty societies and the American Medical Association (AMA). Consultation codes are used most frequently by specialists after a patient referral from a primary care physician.

The survey indicates that the approximately 5,500 physicians who completed the survey have been forced to take a number of cost-cutting steps to offset revenue losses associated with the elimination of these codes.

After analyzing survey data, representatives of these specialties and the AMA identified several technical improvements that would make the policy more equitable. They joined with 16 other organizations in a letter outlining their concerns and asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to review and modify its current policy to prevent further deterioration of care coordination between physicians.

For more information on the survey results, the organization letter, and survey participants, please visit the American Medical Association website.

American Medical Association. "New Physician Survey Find Medicare Payment Change Hurts Care Coordination Efforts: Medical OrganizationsCall on CMS to Review Consultation Code Policy."
AMA. July 16, 2010. Web. July 201, 2010.
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/medicare-consultation-codes.shtml

HHS to Invest $250 Million to Boost Primary Care Workforce

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will invest $250 million to boost the primary care workforce in an effort to address a predicted shortage of physicians in the field. The funds will be derived from the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which has $500 million for fiscal year 2010.

HHS intends to spend the $250 million on the following main initiatives:

• $160 million for the creation of 500 new residency slots in primary care
• $32 million to train 600 physician assistants
• $30 million to fund the full-time education of 600 nursing students
• $15 million to support nurse-managed clinics
• $5 million to help states plan for the primary care shortage
• Training of 16,000 new primary care providers over the next five years

The Association of American Medical Colleges is predicting that the US will face a shortage of 21,000 primary care providers by 2015. The shortage is due to a combination of various factors including: fewer medical school graduates going into primary care, an aging population, and the expected patient increase resulting from expanded health coverage.

Source: BNA

Study Highlights Shortage of Primary Care Physicians

A George Washington University study shows that medical schools are continuing to produce more graduates going into research and specialty professions and not enough primary care doctors. The study also found that graduates of public medical schools were more likely to promote a "social mission," encouraging graduates to go into primary care, especially in underserved communities. More prestigious schools were

Many analysts believe that the continued shortage of graduates entering the primary care field is due to the low reimbursement rate. After graduating with massive debt, graduates are hesitant to select a field that pays an average of $124,000 a year, the lowest rate among physician specialties.

The new health reform law sets aside $1.5 billion in funding for primary care physicians who work in underserved areas. Some hospitals are also working to attract physicians into primary care, fearing that without first-line care, patients will flood their emergency rooms with minor and preventable conditions. This study and others that have been released, continue to serve as indicators that improvments to the delivery of care are needed to support an increased patient population.


The full George Washington study can be found here:
http://www.annals.org/content/152/12/804.full?aimhp


Source: The Baltimore Sun
http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-primary-care-study-20100615,0,6289224.story