Can a patient-centered medical home lead to better patient outcomes? The quality implications of Geisinger's ProvenHealth Navigator.

One of the primary goals of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is to provide higher quality care that leads to better patient outcomes. Currently, there is only limited evidence regarding the ability of PCMHs to achieve this goal. This article demonstrates the effect of PCMHs in improving certain clinical outcomes, as shown by the ProvenHealth Navigator (PHN), an advanced PCMH model developed and implemented by Geisinger Health System. In this study, the authors examined the claims data from Geisinger Health Plan between 2005 and 2009 and estimated the effect of PHN on reducing amputation rates among patients with diabetes, end-stage renal disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke. The results show that, despite its relatively short period of existence, PHN has led to significant improvements in certain outcomes, further illustrating its potential as a care delivery model to be adopted on a wider scale.