title: Becoming a patient-centered medical home: a 9-year transition for a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model has great potential for optimizing the care of chronically ill patients, yet there is much to be learned about various implementations of this model and their impact on patient care processes and outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined changes in patterns of health care use in a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers throughout a 9-year period of practice transformation that included recognition of all centers by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as Level 3 PCMH practices. We analyzed deidentified data from electronic health records for the period 2003 to 2011 to identify patterns of service use for all 4,595 patients with diabetes. We also examined a subsample of 545 patients who were in care throughout the study period to track improvement in glycated hemoglobin levels as a clinical measure over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Through the transition to a PCMH, the mean number of encounters with outreach, diabetes educators, and psychosocial services increased for all diabetic patients; virtually all patients had visits with a primary care clinician, but the mean number of visits decreased slightly. Among patients in the subsample, mean annual levels of glycated hemoglobin decreased steadily during the 9-year study period, mainly driven by a reduction in patients having baseline levels exceeding 9%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This retrospective study conducted in a real-world setting using electronic health record data demonstrates a shift in resource use by diabetic patients from the primary care clinician to other members of the care team. The findings suggest that PCMH implementation has the potential to alter processes of care and improve outcomes of care, especially among those with higher disease burden.
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Family Health, New York, New York 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Neil S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Calman
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Waltermaurer
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Molina-Ortiz
authors.forename: Tongtan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chantarat
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bozack
mesh_terms: D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017146:Models, Organizational; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin
keywords: certification; change; diabetes; organizational; patient-centered medical home; practice-based research; primary care