How does patient-centered medical care differ from traditional disease management?
Most disease management programs use case managers who are provided by the member’s health plan. The primary relationship in that arrangement is between the case manager and the member. In the patient-centered medical home model, care and the coordination of care is the responsibility of the member’s personal physician and the physician’s health care team. The health plan provides information designed to help the patient and physician work together to set specific health care objectives and choose the best way to achieve those objectives. The member becomes more engaged in his or her health care, and the health care system will be better able to serve the needs of individual members. What are the biggest factors driving the introduction of this new concept today? The current system is not prepared to meet the needs of an aging population, either now or in the future. Primary care in this country is a failing entity. Each year, the number of primary care physicians drops by 6 percent. W
