The Patient-centered Medical Home Revisited...
"We believe that a sustained commitment to primary care will ultimately reduce emergency and hospital utilization and this is something we hope to see as the [Galaxy Health] program continues."
~Dr. Arek Jibilian, M.D., assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Keck School division of geriatric, hospital, palliative and general internal medicine
Galaxy Health launched two years ago at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center to a lot of hype, with enthusiasts touting the future of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). Galaxy Health provides patients living at home with 24/7 access to a clinical care team, while investing more in education for primary care teams. This is particularly important at a time when there is a shortage of primary care physicians in the US.
The early findings on Galaxy Health's program were positive: improved patient satisfaction, provider satisfaction, and access to care. Surprisingly though, according to ScienceDaily, the program has only received $750,000 in grant funding.
So far, there has been relatively scant coverage of Galaxy Health and PCMH efficacy in general. It will be important to monitor the success of these early pilots to validate if PCMH is a viable model for bringing down costs and improving outcomes in ambulatory home care.
