Growth in Blues’ patient-centered medical home program shows statewide transformation of care

Our patient-centered medical home program has grown to 4,022 primary care doctors at 1,422 practices around the state in its sixth year of operation.These practices care for more than 1.2 million BCBSM members in 78 of Michigan’s 83 counties. The program continues to lead the nation in size and cost savings, helping to improve the quality and delivery of health care for all Michigan residents.

The growth in the program reflects significant momentum by physicians to bolster the primary care system, improve quality and make health care more effective and safer for patients.

A deep dive into the data now shows our PCMH program is actually helping to lower unnecessary use of health care services that contribute to higher health care costs for everyone.

In 2014, in comparison with non-PCMH practices, the PCMH practices had:

• 9.9 percent lower rate of adult ER visits
• 27.5 percent lower rate of adult ambulatory care sensitive inpatient stays
• 11.8 percent lower rate of adult primary care sensitive ER visits
• 8.7 percent lower rate of adult high-tech radiology usage
• 14.9 percent lower rate of pediatric ER visits
• 21.3 percent lower rate of pediatric primary-care sensitive ER visits