Study: Medical home plus HIT may alleviate PCP shortage

A study by Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative has found that the combination of the medical home model and health information technology could alleviate the nation’s primary care physician shortage (Source: “Study: Medical home model increases quality of care, reduces cost,” Healthcare IT News, Sept. 1, 2009).

According to the study (pdf, 17 pages), which appeared in the American Journal of Managed Care, a comparison of a sample of 9,200 patients from Group Health’s medical home with a control group found that after one year, patient visits to emergency room decrease by 29 percent. The rate of hospitalizations dropped by 11 percent and the medical home had 6 percent fewer in-person visits.

The study also found that with the aid of HIT, only 10 percent of medical home doctors and staff felt “burnt out” or emotionally exhausted – compared to 30 percent of doctors from the control group.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, there is a shortage of more than 16,000 primary care doctors in the United States. About 26,000 new doctors enter the workforce each year, but only about 6,500 enter primary care.