A New York-based health maintenance organization has announced the second phase of its patient-centered medical home pilot.
CDPHP, an Albany, N.Y.-based not-for-profit individual practice association model health maintenance organization, launched the PCMH in May 2008 to seek improvements in the quality and efficiency of healthcare through transformation of the way primary care is practiced and reimbursed. The second phase of the pilot is expected to encompass 100 Albany-area practitioners serving nearly 100,000 members.
Current pilot participants Community Care/Latham Medical Group, Community Care/Schodack and CapitalCare/Clifton Park Family Practice have undergone 18 months of practice transformation and concluded the first year of testing a new payment model.
“The CDPHP board of directors authorized the expansion of this pilot to include an additional 21 practices, beginning in September 2010,” said John D. Bennett, MD, the HMO's president and CEO. “The decision to make further investments based on preliminary data illustrates the sense of urgency felt by the board, if there is any true hope of achieving the initial objective of restoring primary care.”
The 21 practices to be included in phase two of the pilot will be chosen by June 2, with the official launch scheduled for September. HMO officials say selected practices should have a current EHR and e-prescribing system in place to help achieve meaningful use status and be eligible for some $19 billion in federal incentives.
“Although it is early to draw definitive conclusions, the three initial pilot practices have demonstrated improvements in both quality of care delivered and the efficiency with which they have delivered it,” said Bruce Nash, MD, CDPHP's chief medical officer.