Should Hospitalists Be Concerned about the PCHM Model?
If the “patient-centered medical home” model does what it intends to do—makes people healthier and limits preventable illness—fewer people will likely be hospitalized. Should hospitalists be worried? Will that mean less work for hospitalists?
“That clearly is one potential implication of many of the different healthcare reform models, including the development of primary-care medical homes and folks out there who are participating in accountable-care organizations [ACOs], all of which are designed to provide better access to patients on an outpatient setting,” SHM immediate past president Joseph Ming Wah Li, MD, SFHM, says. “The rationale is that it should ultimately lead to fewer hospitalizations.”
Most hospitalists, Dr. Li adds, will say that’s a good thing.
“You’re never going to argue against” fewer hospitalizations, he says. “I think what hospitalists will have to do is they will have to adapt.”
Ultimately, patients who are hospitalized will be sicker, and hospitalists likely will end up seeing those patients several times a day rather than just once or twice, Dr. Li says.
Dr. Meyers, of AHRQ, says inpatient care in the future could become more meaningful, because while there may be fewer patients, those who are hospitalized will need more complex care management.
“I think America’s a big enough country, though, where with an aging population—and we still have lots of chronic disease—there’s going to be no shortage of work, meaningful work, for hospitalists moving forward,” he says.
Dr. Eichhorn, who works in an already up-and-running PCMH system, says patient census shouldn’t be a concern.
“Most hospitalists would probably say that they have plenty of work,” Dr. Eichhorn says. “I think anything that we can do to prevent a hospital stay certainly promotes health and allows us to be better stewards of healthcare resources. And I think it’s a win for everyone.”
