The success of the Adirondack Medical Home Initiative (AMHI), was the focus of a recently-published case study, Overcome Operational Challenges to Succeed as a Medical Home.
The second in a two-part series, the study explores operational challenges faced and overcome in the Adirondack region’s efforts to build a successful value-based medical home delivery model. Part one, titled Lay the Groundwork for a Successful Medical Home Transition, was published November 2015 and detailed the early days of the Adirondack region’s transition to a medical home.
The medical home model places an emphasis on preventive care, enhanced management of chronic conditions, and the assurance of a close relationship between patients and their primary care providers. A program of AHI, AMHI is a collaborative effort by health care providers and public and private insurers to transform the health care delivery system in six Adirondack counties – Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren, and Washington. The goal of the medical home is to ensure quality, accessible care while working to contain costs.
Bob Cawley, AHI director of health system transformation, was one of several partners interviewed by Part B News, an online subscription publication targeting medical providers.
Cawley shared challenges involved in getting the medical home model off the ground and lessons learned during the process. “We were losing primary care providers,” recalled Cawley of a situation that was “putting the entire health care system at risk of collapse.” The tides eventually turned thanks to collaborative efforts involving a multitude of stakeholders.
The case study also examines strategies used by partners to successfully transition to a patient centered medical home (PCMH). According to Karen Ashline, assistant vice president, of AHI partner organization Adirondacks ACO, “The region’s primary care has found stability, and monthly payments tied to the PCMH model have helped AHI and its partners provide a powerful, patient-centered delivery system.”
See About Us for more information on AMHI and the medical home initiative.
