The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative reaffirms the goal of patient-centered, coordinated primary care

The Supreme Court today upholds the federal health reform law

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) offered the following perspective on today's Supreme Court ruling upholding the federal health reform law.

The PCPCC believes today's ruling recognizes a fundamental value about health care delivery: A health care system built upon a strong primary care foundation, supported by the patient-centered medical home (PCMH), is critical to achieving the three-part goal of better health, better care and lower costs.

Efforts to transform primary care at the practice level–such as the PCMH--have gained tremendous momentum and broad support from both the private and public sectors. The number of primary care physicians who have redesigned their practices has grown, and millions of American families are benefiting through access to better coordinated care, which leads to improved outcomes. Major insurers are driving primary care transformation through payments for patient-centered services nationwide as a means to increase access to care, control costs, improve patient satisfaction and make Americans healthier. A mounting body of evidence demonstrates the primary care medical home is an effective means of delivering patient-centered health care to children and adults. [1],[2],[3]

Moving forward, it is important that we manage costs, collect relevant data about patients and patient populations, and continue the transformation that moves us toward team-based, coordinated and accessible care that enhances patient satisfaction.

"Public and private initiatives will continue to advance these team-based, patient-centered transformation efforts. We fully expect the primary care delivery system to embrace full implementation of the medical home. It's full speed ahead – we'll keep helping states as we move into high gear," said Marci Nielsen, Ph.D., MPH, PCPCC executive director.

About the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative
The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative is a coalition of more than 1,000 major employers, consumer groups, organizations representing primary care physicians and other stakeholders who have joined to advance the patient-centered medical home. The Collaborative believes that, if implemented, the patient-centered medical home will improve the health of patients and the health care delivery system. For more information on the patient-centered medical home and a complete list of the PCPCC members, please visit www.pcpcc.net/.

[1] Grumbach K, Grundy P. Outcomes of implementing Patient Centered Medical Home interventions: a review of the evidence from prospective evaluation studies in the United States. Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative. Nov. 16, 2010. (2012 update forthcoming) http://www.pcpcc.net/files/evidence_outcomes_in_pcmh.pdf.

[2] Maeng DD, Graf TR, Davis DE, Tomcavage J, Bloom FJ Jr. "Can a patient-centered medical home lead to better patient outcomes? The quality implications of Geisinger's ProvenHealth Navigator," Am J Med Qual. 2012 May-Jun;27(3):210-6.

[3] "Health Plans Beginning to Recognize Importance of Paying for PCMH Model," AAFP News Now, Feb, 1, 2012

SOURCE Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative